Zarla's Story
by Zorua Illusion
Summary: The sequel to Falling in Love in Avatar Land, this is what happens when Zarla gets on the wrong side of some spirits and realizes that everything we think is fictional... isn't quite as fictional as we'd like to believe. Rated "M" for language and graphic scenes, but nothing sexual.
1. Prologue: Welcome

**A/N: I own nothing but Zarla and Adam.**

My name is Zarla Mattson. And this is my story.

I know, I know, those lines have been used several thousand different times in several thousand different ways throughout the ages, but I don't think any stories are quite like mine.

That fall I took into Avatar Land with my best friend (now boyfriend), Adam, was just the beginning of this whole fiasco.

Let me start from the beginning.

For those of you who read the recording of Falling in Love in Avatar Land, welcome back. For those of you who popped in on this story, let me give you a run down.

Adam and I met and started traveling with the Tenth Doctor and his companion, Donna, when we were sixteen years old. We both turned seventeen during our brief months of adventure. How we met Doc and Donna is explained in "Before the Fall", a prequel to our fall into Avatar Land.

The Doctor and Donna fell through a hole in the Time Vortex to get to our dimension. How that works, I don't know. They got out the same way they got in, but with us in tow. Apparently, that hole has been there for eternity and will be there until the end of time (literally) because our "branch" of our universe is a multiversal junkyard.

That will be explained later.

After a few months, we fell through another hole. Two spirits, I forget who, came into the TARDIS and offered help, but only if we helped in return, for the Great War had been going on far too long and the balance of the world was slowly becoming irreparable. We agreed to the help, but we had to be split up-

Two would remain in the TARDIS to help the spirits. Two would go down to the planet and help end the war, later to be joined by the others.

Adam and I agreed that Doc and Donna would stay on the TARDIS while we went down. We put on disguises, for the spirits told us we'd be going to the Fire Nation and gave us a timeframe, which was between "The Awakening" and "The Headband". The Doctor then put a block on my memories that would take place over time, just so that way I could inform Adam of what the heck was going on and not have my reason get in the way of fixed points.

This wasn't mentioned in that great of detail in FiLiAL. Here's where the plotline begins.

Adam and I met up with the Gaang and went through a whole bunch of adventures, during which I was blessed by Yue, rendering me immune to bloodbending, was captured after the failed Black Sun Invasion and sent to the Boiling Rock, fought the Fire Princess (aka Azula), got burned, realized I love Adam and told him so, and we agreed to postpone our relationship till after the war.

Then here's where the timeline deviates from the original story line.

Ozai's troops move out one week before the comet instead of the day of. They would hang around in Ba Sing Se until the comet, then go through with the plan.

Aang runs off to the giant lion turtle, we try to get Jun to trace him, and Adam and I discover our forgotten TARDIS keys, which Nayla, Jun's Shirshu, traces, along with Iroh's sandal.

We meet up with the Old Masters and Doc and Donna (who had met Bumi and were hanging out with the Old Masters ever since), and then went our separate ways to win the war. Adam, Sokka, Suki, and I went to the airships, Doc and Donna helped the Old Masters with reclaiming Ba Sing Se, and Zuko, Toph, and Katara took on Azula, Toph going with them at my suggestion. It was stupid to have the Earthbender that can only see on metal and earth go into the _air_.

We won with very few mishaps. We came back only slightly worse for wear, healed up Aang in the TARDIS because he reopened his lightning wound during his battle with Ozai, and accepted awards for our bravery in the war from the new Firelord, Zuko, a few days later.

I became "Eris Dragon Zarla", due to him overhearing my nickname of "Eris". Adam is "Phoenix Adam", due to his help in healing a great many people, including several of the warriors from the Black Sun Invasion and helping Katara with healing Aang in the TARDIS.

I, personally, think the titles are really freaking cool.

We left soon afterwards in the repaired TARDIS with the Doctor and Donna. Everything was fine.

But, as those of you who watch Doctor Who know… Hell is never too far behind the TARDIS and her residents.

And that, my friends, is where this tale begins- the day Hell caught up with us, and boy, was it _livid_.


	2. Nightmares Are Real

The thing most people ignore about Hell is that it's not a place. It's a state of mind.

When you die, you are not sent to Purgatory or Heaven. That's your state of mind while you're alive.

At least, that's what I thought all my life. I haven't been proven wrong about it yet.

This is how my story began.

It was actually pretty peaceful in the TARDIS at the time. Adam and Donna were sleeping, and I was holding Doc's tool box as he repaired her.

"Spanner, please," he asked. I handed it to him, and a few seconds later, he popped back up and dusted his hands off.

"Well, that should do-" Doc's self praise was cut off by a sudden jolt that sent my torso into the edge of the console, knocking the wind out of me. Doc grabbed the edge, then started racing around. I knew that wasn't good.

"What's happening?" I shouted. The TARDIS was going haywire, sparks going off, the lights flickering, and some buttons and levels were pulled without Doc's help.

"We're being sucked in by something!"

"Do we know what the something is?" Adam had appeared in the doorway, just a hint disheveled from the tossing and turning.

"Oi, Spaceman, what's going on?" Donna demanded.

"I don't know! Something's pulling us in, and none too gently either!"

A few more seconds of panic and a large _thud _indicated our landing.

"Doctor. Where are we?" I asked.

Doc looked at the viewing screen, which had rampant Gallifreyan writing swirling around and around.

"We're back in Avatar Land. Erm… but not really Avatar Land?"

"Probably the Spirit World, then," Adam frowned.

Don't get us wrong- we'd love to see the Gaang again. They only recently got cameras, but we could now see that a lot more time has passed for them than for us. Aang is about 21 years old, so eight years have passed since the Eris Dragon and Phoenix have left.

Doc strolled down the ramp and opened the TARDIS doors.

"Ready?"

We all shrugged and got out.

We were met by what I think was every spirit in existence in Avatar Land. Three of them were ahead of the rest, only one of which I recognized.

"Yue! What's going on?"

Yue made a movement as if she were about to speak, but the male spirit next to her spoke up.

He was dressed similarly to a king, and looked a bit like a younger Roku.

"We have decided to promote you to a grand position."

I swear; Yue looked like she wanted to facepalm, along with the other female spirit next to her.

This spirit looked as if she had walked straight out of desert royalty. Her sari was formal but light, pink with sand-colored swirls running through it, with sand colored pants underneath and bare footed. A few hints of gold jewelry, such as a headdress and belt, were scattered throughout her person. Her skin was tan, but not black, more as if she had been a native of India. (**A/N: Does that sound racist? Sorry if it does.)** Her hair was a dark brown, nearly black, and her eyes were this real bright pink. A few roses were placed into her braid, each one varying shades of pink.

"Who's you, and what on Earth are you talking about?"

The kingly spirit sighed. "The Great War has brought to our attention that the Avatar is not always… available. It is not Avatar Aang's fault for being away for one hundred years incased inside of ice, but the point still stands. We need someone to take over in case the Avatar cannot, whether they are training, dead, growing up, or in a predicament like Avatar Aang's. We have chosen you. Step forward so you may begin."

My mind was reeling. Everyone else was as stunned as I was, what with Adam standing rigid as a soldier, Doc doing a good impersonation of a gold fish, and Donna blinking rapidly.

"Wait wait wait, hold up, I never agreed to this! What does this even entail, because I can honestly see your point here, and more importantly, why me? And lastly, what can I call you, because really, calling you 'that kingly looking spirit guy' is getting a bit old."

"You can call me Mejor. As for what it entails, you will take place of the Avatar when they are unable to perform their duties for certain reasons that have already been mentioned. You were chosen because you are the least biased person to have ever stepped foot on the planet you call Avatar Land, having equal amounts of sympathy for both sides in the Great War."

"Well, that's fantastic and everything, and thanks for not saying my name was drawn out of a hat, but wouldn't that require living on Avatar Land?"

"Yes." He seemed delighted that I had figured that out. I was anything but.

"I have other responsibilities. My mother, for one, back at our home universe. Two, I'm traveling with Doc. It's not the safest thing to do, no, but he's been there for me, even when he didn't know it. And lastly," I grabbed Adam's hand, returning the strength-giving squeeze I received, "I'm with Adam. And there's no way I will just up and leave him."

"We can make it so that way you cannot remember who you were before. You would not have any ties to your previous life."

"What." Adam and I spoke at the same time, in that voice that hints if you continue, you're going to get your head chewed off. Unfortunately, Mejor didn't recognize that.

"You will not remember most of what happened to you."

And then came the thing that really pissed me off.

"We can make it so you fall in love with someone else. We have a Spirit of Lo-"

"_Shut. The Hell. Up,_" I seethed. Mejor looked at me, startled, and perhaps a tiny bit scared. Apparently, I have that effect when seriously pissed off.

"Really? Really? Just bloody really? You think, for just a second, that I'm going to actually let you into my head, make me _forget who I am_, just because you're some high and mighty spirits? That I'm going to let you make me forget _Adam?_"

"Yes," Mejor said as if I was stupid.

This time, four people facepalmed, they being Yue, the spirit next to her, Adam, and myself.

"You moron, do you really think she's going to go for this?" Donna demanded.

"I did not ask you to speak." Mejor raised his hand and waved it. Donna tried speaking again, but her voice wasn't there.

"That's it! No, no way in the seven hells! Give my friend her voice back or I swear to the stars, I will show you why Toph calls me Rabbit Kangaroo!"

Screw the "respect my author-it-tay" attitude of these guys. I still despise them for it. Honestly, they can go screw a bleeding wall for all I give a damn.

I could see that Mejor was getting mad, but I really didn't care.

"Look, not only have you decided that my thought of torture is a blessing, but you have also taken something that doesn't belong to you over something pointless. I was mildly irritated, but now I'm just downright pissed. I acknowledge what you want to do, but I say this: find someone else to do it. I'm not interested."

Doc, while this was happening, scanned Donna with the sonic screwdriver, did some finagling with it, and pointed it at her again, only to hear this ear-drum shattering loud shout of "_OI, KINGLY GUY. I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU."_

All the spirits winced at the deafening shout.

"Donna," I sighed, "we all do. But let's just get out of here, I'm done talking."

"You are not permitted to leave." Mejor frowned.

"I'm also apparently not allowed to do much of anything beyond what you 'authority figures' say. Well guess what? I've been denouncing authority figures for the past two years. If you actually paid attention, you would've known that. I'm done, and hopefully, I never have to see you again." I turned my back and started stalking off towards the TARDIS.

This is when crap starts happening.

Mejor was just as pissed as I was. Don't ask me why, I really don't know, and any explanations offered to me have made just about as much sense as a fae's moral compass. (Which is to say, not all that much.)

So he cast a spell- a spell of death.

But two spirits were on my side- Yue the Moon and the female next to her, whom I would later learn is the Spirit of all the Deserts except Wan Shi Tong's. Her name is the Desert Rose.

They combined their magic, but due to the fact that one is night and the other is day made it difficult to negate the spell, so they did the one thing that would be better than me dying.

If I'm quite honest, I really am not sure which I would've preferred.

For their counter-spell was to make my worst nightmare, real. And for a resident of the TARDIS, that's a very scary thing.

You might be surprised at what my nightmare is. Perhaps not.

No, my nightmare is not Brad, nor is it losing Adam or Doc or Donna or my mama or Frehor Noches. It is not dying- in fact, it's the exact opposite.

I'm downright terrified of becoming immortal. Because watching everyone you love grow old and die while you live forever is one of the worst forms of torture to me.

But… in the end, I blacked out, for the magic was too much for my brain to handle.

I heard a distant shout of "_Zar_!" laced with concern and fear.

I knew it was Adam. Who else would worry so much about me?

And now, all I do is hope that he can forgive me for all the grief I'm about to cause him.


	3. Huzzah, I'm Legal

When I woke up, I was in some non-descript tan room somewhere with Doc, Donna, and Adam all looking down on me, worry etched into every line of their faces. Once my eyes opened all the way, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting up.

Another voice made itself present. "Something that should not have happened to you for the reasons it did."

The female spirit that had stood beside Yue was now in front of me. I was sitting up on a bed which color scheme matched the room.

"Who're you?"

The spirit sighed. "I am the Desert Rose. I am the spirit of all deserts, besides Wan Shi Tong's, and I protect the travelers in them, either leading them to oases or farther away from them, depending on their business and agenda."

"You helped me, didn't you? Along with Yue."

She nodded. "Unfortunately, I am not sure if you'll thank us or curse us for our meddling. Mejor, who is now being denounced as leader of the spirits, had cast a spell of death upon you. Lady Yue and I managed to change it, but… the spell changed into one of nightmares."

"I face nightmares every day," I frowned.

"This makes your worst nightmare come to life."

My eyes widened instinctively, my knees coming up to my chest, and I started breathing heavier. I knew what it was I feared most; I'd seen its effect in Doc. Frehor came and snuggled up next to me.

"I'm sorry. I hope that one day, you can forgive us."

"Honestly, what is there to forgive? You protected me, but you don't even know me. I met Yue a grand total of _once_. So… thank you. And don't blame yourself."

Desert Rose smiled. I wanted to call her out on it being fake, but she disappeared in a swirl of sand before I could. The wind whispered one more thing, carrying her voice.

"I'm sorry, Eris Dragon, but you also cannot leave this universe in the blue box… that was part of Mejor's spell that we missed. Forgive us, Eris Dragon."

By the stricken faces of Doc, Donna, and Adam, I knew they had all heard as well.

"That's one hell of a birthday gift," I tried to joke, failing miserably.

Adam pulled me into a hug, dry sobs finally taking me over. Donna joined in, along with Doc, the prior of whom tears were landing on my back.

"They told us we'd have to leave in three days. Your birthday is on the final day we can stay. We'll stay with you, and I swear, I'll try to find a way for you to leave."

"Doc, d-don't sweat it too much, alright? I'll be back, there's no way he's getting me out for the count. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he admonished with difficulty, grief clogging his throat.

"I don't."

We all grinned.

The next two days were spent in tense jesting, them getting ready for my small birthday party, and us writing letters to the Gaang, explaining my predicament.

They replied oddly- asking that if I could live anywhere, what it would be. I replied a theatre.

The next day, one had popped up and was given to me, along with a letter that said the Gaang would be there the day after everyone else left. They knew I would want to say good-bye without an audience.

So two days passed in this way, and the nights were spent in Adam's arms. It's cliché and cheesy, but he made me feel safe.

We celebrated inside my new place of residence, because let's face it; the TARDIS will always be my home.

On my birthday, the TARDIS had baked me a small cake, one fourth being banana with edible ball bearings, one chocolate, another yellow with chocolate frosting, and another being strawberry and chocolate. Each fourth went to a different person: Doc, Donna, Adam, and I, in that order. There were candles on my part, a one and an eight, signifying my eighteenth year old life. We all laughed and exchanged stories, actually being happy for the first time in three days, ignoring the elephant in the room.

Then, surprisingly, everyone gave me a gift.

Donna gave me three sets of brown trousers, having seen that my jeans were getting too small or riddled with holes and burns. She gave me a rainbow of short sleeved, plain tee shirts, along with a short leather cloak-like poncho.

Doc, shockingly, gave me a TARDIS coral piece.

"This is a stunted TARDIS growth. It will never grow. It would've, originally, but the Old Girl was scheduled for decommission, so… they…"

"Thank you," I cut him off, gently taking the coral from him. I could feel the hum of life and the brushing against my mind that was the TARDIS.

"You can still understand any language the TARDIS knows… speaking it is a maybe. And you can always communicate with us as long as we are inside the TARDIS, and your cell phone will always have a signal."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Doc stepped back and Adam took his place, his face stoic. I knew he was trying to hold back tears.

He gently pressed a necklace into my hands. It was of a berrirose, and it opened up to reveal a picture of Adam and I at the amusement park where this all started, but before the bees attacked, smiling. On the other side was an imprint of my TARDIS key.

He handed me another object, which opened up to reveal and Erlenmeyer's Flask with bubbles coming out of it attached to a thin but long "L" shaped piece. It was a music player that played like player pianos- there was a song etched onto a cylinder, and when it spun, tongs played the song. This one was a bit fancier, though. It played "Lonely Lullaby" by Owl City, but no lyrics.

I thanked Adam by hugging him, but then it was time for good-byes.

Donna went first.

"I'll see you again, Donna Noble."

Donna swept me up into a hug. "Oh, I wish I could do something."

"Help Doc through this. He'll need your help."

"I'm just a temp from Cheswick." **(A/N: Spelling?)**

"Oh, Donna… you are so much more important than that. Help him, and remember this: I'll be back."

Donna let me go and went off into the TARDIS. Next it was Doc.

"Don't you dare blame yourself. I'll be back before you know it. Save the world and spare me a thought here and there, yeah?"

"Oh, Zarla Mattson, you will do brilliant things, I can feel it," he told me, also pulling me into a hug before popping in the TARDIS himself.

Then it was just Adam and I.

I stared at the TARDIS, the blue that usually brought me immense comfort only doing a little to cheer me up.


	4. Why Say Goodbye?

Adam's POV

Doc left the two of us alone, following Donna into the TARDIS and shutting the door.

I turned to Zarla, who was still staring at the TARDIS. We stood there in absolute quiet for a moment until I spoke.

"Goodbye."

Silence reigned for a moment, then, "Why?"

It was so like Zarla to ask something like that, simple, one worded, yet complex at the same time.

"It's polite." I shrugged. It was all I could think of.

"Formality, what's that?" Zarla laughed with just a hint of bitterness.

I swept her up into a hug, having nothing else to say. After a few moments, she backed away, though not completely.

Then her hands gripped the sides of my face and her lips were pressed against mine and suddenly, the world hardly mattered anymore. So I kissed back and my hands wrapped around her waist and hers wrapped around my neck.

And I know it's cliché and cheesy and every other word that describes what I'm about to say, but I couldn't (and still can't) recall how long it lasted. I still don't care. The only thing I remember about that kiss, other than that it was amazing, was what it was saying.

_Don't give up._

_I'll wait._

_I'll return._

I hardly noticed that we parted. I barely took note of the fact that I was now back inside the TARDIS.

The only thing I saw were the off-white doors closing, blocking the vision of Zarla waving. I didn't head over to the viewing screen.

I didn't want to.

I just sat on the jump seat and stared off into space. Donna sat next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Doc did his TARDIS dance, but it was highly subdued.

Losing a friend was hard on all of us. Losing Zarla?

It would've been kinder to shove icicles through our hearts.

**A/N: Have I broken your hearts into tiny little pieces yet? **

**Anyway, thanks to those who have read reviewed, followed, and favorited this story… but I'm pretty sure that that's just bellafan22.**

**Also, huge shout-out to Technogirl317 for basically editing this and encouraging me to post it. THANKS!**

**Disclaimer: Because I've pretty much forgotten about… three or so chapters, I own nothing but Zarla, Adam, Frehor Noches, and the Desert Rose.**


	5. Catching Their Attention

I find that our minds are like stone. Strong, determined, stubborn, but hit the right place, and they crack, and if you keep hitting, eventually, they break.

I don't remember the Gaang's visit. I don't remember anything, other than the good-bye Adam and I shared. Katara tells me I acted just as I always did, but there would be a time here and there where I would speak Spanish and pause before translating, as if I was expecting someone else to.

I don't even have a detail of it, like my mom when she went to get her appendix removed. (Her father had come in and visited after surgery, and the next day, she was really ticked off that he wasn't there, and when he told her the date, she was surprised. She still doesn't remember that day.)

All I remember is waking up in the theatre the next day and seeing the Desert Rose waiting for me.

"Holy cow, you're in the room." Was the first thing that popped to mind and what I said in my "I-just-woke-up-leave-me-alone" voice.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I thought you would like to know more about what happened in the Spirit World."

"Alright, fire away."

"Mejor has since been ignored as leader and stripped of all authority- they are going so far as to think of making him fade, or, in mortal terms, cease to exist. We are debating having a new ruler."

"Please, for the love of the TARDIS, say that they aren't considering me." I turned over and slammed my face into my pillow.

"No, they are not. Why would this bother you?"

My words were muted by the feathers in the pillow, but still understandable. "Those who have power or seek it for their own needs are often corrupted by it. I learned that lesson a long time ago, and I have no desire to see if it will hold true for me."

"A good reason. No, they are not. That is all."

"Thanks for the update." I had turned over again so I faced the ceiling. "Why do you care so much?"

"I do not understand."

"For two years, I've been acknowledged by a group of _six._ Now, all of a sudden, it doubles, and then the entire Spirit World is watching me, and then I get two visits from you. Why do you care so much?"

Desert Rose was quiet for awhile before speaking again. "Possibly because I would want to know what is happening; to know that someone corrupted is receiving their due. Perhaps because I understand loneliness, or maybe because I understand how it feels to have someone you love ripped away from you." Her hand absentmindedly crept towards a circular bronze disc that kept her chain belt clasped. It had symbols around it, along with a picture of a cyclone made of sand.

I felt my hand start creeping up to my berrirose necklace.

"Thank you… and sorry if I brought up painful memories."

"Ah, Eris Dragon, are not they always leading to the best ones, though?" Desert Rose smiled for real this time and again disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Time passed with me playing the music box, sleeping, doing random things to stave off boredom (which were mildly successful) and getting updates from Desert Rose. We quickly became friends, exchanging stories, and I received a blessing from her, too, after I listened and replied. (Apparently, both of us had issues with people listening to us.)

The Gaang visited on occasion, with more frequent visits from Sokka then anyone else. Katara and Aang were busy with Avatar duties, Toph became chief of police after Republic City was founded, and Zuko was busy with Fire Lord Stuff with Suki as his guard. (Sokka and Suki were still together, by the way, and managed to see each other frequently. Suki would occasionally pop in on the visits.)

But not everyone was happy with the Gaang. There were still some supporters of Ozai and his ideals and who would stop at nothing to put Azula on the throne or take over in the name of the Fire Nation.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Sokka and Suki were in the theatre with me. We were discussing actually having it as a running theatre, allowing convicts on probation to work here to get their life restarted, when three men in gasmasks raged in.

Sokka and Suki got into defensive positions. I didn't stand up, nor did I turn around.

"There's a door there, you know. Knocking before kicking it down would be nice."

Now I did stand up.

"Don't move!" They leveled some sort of gun at me, to which I raised my eyebrows.

"Guys, I'm just putting my door back up. I spent a lot of time on those carvings!"

It was true- I carved the door when I was bored, and I finally managed to finish the swirling design, which was my idea of time.

They allowed me to move the door back up. What they didn't realize, though, is that I had also activated the safety features I had added in. I had a lot of time on my hands, okay?

So, long story short, they fell through a trapdoor in the stage they just so happened to be standing on. Oh well, I learned not to look gift horses in the mouth.

"Well, that's done. So, shall we go see what the ruckus outside is?" I asked Sokka and Suki, not waiting for a reply before moving the door to the side and letting myself out into pandemonium.

There was a revolt going on; a pretty well organized one from the looks of it. Places were on fire, more people in gasmasks, and citizens running on the streets. Sokka and Suki came out and tossed the three men they had carried out, leaving them to scurry back.

I caught a few citizens running past. "Get inside, it's safe in there. Go!"

They listened. I followed them, Sokka and Suki calling to me that they'll be outside trying to stop it.

"Alright, see that lever right there? Anyone in a gasmask tries to get in, pull it and go stand in front of the purple door." I grabbed my needle pouch and ran out.

Desert Rose appeared next to me again, running with me.

"Another update or are we reversing roles?" I asked as I searched for Sokka and Suki.

"The latter."

I found them and dashed towards them. "We'll find out!"

"Zarla! The revolt's getting worse; they're trying to take over the city," Sokka informed me. (By the way, they couldn't see Desert Rose. I forget why, some big, long, complicated explanation was attempted but she ended up basically telling me that "they can't see me and that's all you need to know".)

"Okay, so what do we do?"

"Make our way towards downtown- luckily we aren't too far from it- and make sure they don't get the Capitol building or a way inside," Suki told me.

"Alright, you guys go! I'm going to round up the innocents and put them in the theatre."

Sokka and Suki nodded before running off. I ran off, directing the citizens to my place of residence. A few fights between me and gasmask men broke out, but all I did was ask "Are you my mummy?" and then pinned them while they were distracted. I came back to find pieces of cloth attached to the walls with the needles, which I took. I also took a few scraps of fabric so we could get to the bottom of this.

Once I was sure I had gotten all the civilians in the theatre (it was difficult, but Desert Rose told me that I had gotten everyone), I stood at the door, quickly repairing it and using the peephole to see who was coming. A few of the less scared kids hopped up into the windowsills, calling down status reports and telling me if there were any gasmasks coming our way.

"Three masks straight ahead!" One called out.

"On it!" I grabbed a smoke bomb, given to me as a gift by Sokka when he realized it was my birthday. I threw it at the three men, reducing their visibility, and Desert (I'm just going to call her Desert from here on out) went in and knocked them out.

A telegram (another recent invention in Avatar Land) started tapping away on my machine.

"Revolt Over. Leader caught. More. Guard," I translated.

"What does that mean?" one mother asked.

"It means that the main assault is over, but there are stragglers. They'll be desperate since the leader's been caught… and it's possible they know you're all here. Don't worry; this place is as safe as can be." I didn't once take my eyes off the door, my hand drifting to my needles. I had gotten very proficient at throwing them, with tricks from the Desert Rose. Apparently, she too had used needles back when she was mortal.

"I think they're all coming here!" another boy cried fearfully.

I looked outside, just in time to see a wave of about twenty men, all in various stages of disarray, charge the doors. I backed away, calling out orders.

"Alright, everyone, to the sides! Stay as close to the walls as you possibly can! All you in the windows, stay there, but if they start attacking, get on the catwalks! Go, all of you! We don't have much time!"

"And you?" a random person asked.

"I have a plan." I refrained from mentioning it was stupid and probably suicidal, but then I realized- I'm immortal. I _can't _die. These people can. I'd rather have me do it than them.

So when the men broke through the doors, it was time to live up to my nickname of Eris.

Shaving cream (don't ask how I got it) flew from all corners of the room, along with the Avatar Land equivalent of Silly String. All the men were confused, long enough for the police force lead by Toph to get in.

"Sup, Rabbit Kangaroo?" Toph ask me while her men arrested the stragglers.

"Not much since you left."

Nothing else could be said as a shout rang out. One of the stragglers was fighting and had two friends with him, all three of them holding a hostage.

"Let us out of here and we won't hurt them!" The leader demanded, pointing his gun like device at them.

I frowned slightly. I was standing in front of the door, but I couldn't reach the lever without them seeing. The floor was made of cement so Toph could "see", but she couldn't bend without the hostages being harmed.

A few of the kids in the windows were looking at me for instruction.

"You know you're currently outnumbered, right?" I asked, trying to keep any emotion from my face. (It's not the easiest thing in the worlds, but I've done it before.)

The leader said nothing, but hoisted his device and hostage, slowly backing towards the door.

The voice in my head, the one that told me what to do during my kung-fu actions (I tried myself to do that, don't worry), said _wait._

So I did… until the voice shouted _NOW _right as the stragglers reached the door.

_Smack smack slap kick spin punch block _push.

To explain that, I first leapt and smacked all the guns towards the ceilings (not towards the kids, mind you). Then I kicked one of the guys in the face with a reverse door-shutting/shuttering (the name is debated in the school I go to. It's also called a round house kick, but instead of kicking with the toes, I kicked with my heel. By the way, do not try this at home unless you've had training). Spin to dodge, launch punch at assailant, block final guy's attack, push safety button with the other hand and whoops! Another Phantom of the Opera trap. He falls into the incomplete tunnel, more of a hole, and is stuck there.

I turned. "Is everyone alright?"

"Shaken, but nothing more. Thank you, Eris Dragon." That was one of the former hostages, a woman with her hair hidden by a bonnet. Her sharp green eyes hinted gratitude, respect, and a lot of strength. The other two grinned shakily, and everyone else in the room replied with various versions of "fine".

"Well, Metal Master, you might want to arrest these six."

"Six?" One policeman inquired.

"Two on the ground, one in this hole, and another three in a similar trap. I've been meaning to get around to actually using this place, but writing the scripts, finding people, and all the other jazz that goes with plays is taking awhile."

Toph waved off the questions. "I'll handle them. Get these buffoons behind bars."

I felt exhausted all of a sudden. Writing it off as lack of adrenaline, I told the people very politely to go home and informed Toph I was going to sleep.

She gave me a look, said "See you later, Rabbit-Kangaroo!", and left.

Desert Rose came back (I hardly noticed she left), looking a bit… put out, I guess is the best way to put it.

"Darn spirit safety."

I raised my eyebrows. "Whenever something dangerous in the mortal world is going on, those who have their homes in the spirit world are called back to it to remain safe. Since you, like the Dragon of the West and the Avatar, can see spirits, you will most likely see many more returning after the Great War."

"If you can do anything, don't let that name change to World War I."

"Why not?"

"Because that implies, to me, at least, that there is/was a World War II, just like there was in my world. Don't let it happen here, if you can do anything."

"I… do not believe I will be able to."

"Eh?"

The conversation had perked me up a little, even though my bed was extremely comfortable and the music box was waiting to be played.

Desert sat in a chair next to my bed. She sighed, looking away from me, her arms crossed.

"Before he lost all authority, Mejor wanted revenge on those who helped you survive. That was what tipped the balance, making him lose his position as leader. Yue got away with it, not to say that Mejor allowed her to, but she has the protection of the Ocean Spirit… I do not, and Mejor had cast a spell upon me as well. In just three more days, I will be all but banished from the Spirit World, although I will retain most my powers and my position, I will not be able to go back." Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Stay with me."

She just looked at me, shocked.

"Stay with me. This place is far too large for one human and her cat, and you have been kind to be since before you actually knew me. There's a room right across the hall, and even if you need more space, there's room everywhere."

She frowned. "I have few others willing to make the journey with me… is it alright if they come with me?"

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anyone who is willing to come with you will always have accommodation at this theatre… on one condition."

"Anything." She sounded desperate.

I smiled slightly. "As long as they have one story to tell, or one song to sing. Doesn't even have to change, can be something they heard a long time ago or three seconds before they walk in the door. No limitations, no requirements. A song, a poem, an epic, a story. Doesn't matter, just something they're willing to share. And maybe, just maybe, I could make it into a play or collection of some sorts and we can put it on for the people, to spread it. It sounds so much better than references that have to be explained to more than one person, yes?"

Desert smiled, a genuine thing you don't see often. "I am positive all of them will have something. Thank you, Eris Dragon; I shall go inform them of your generosity."

She wound up the music box and left in a swirl of sand, as always.

As "Lonely Lullaby" played, I fell asleep, not realizing something far, far larger than I could've ever imagined was coming.

**A/N: And once again, a huge shout out to TechnoGirl317 for editing this story and for all the support she's given it! This story is finally getting to one of the main events! Hold onto your seats everyone, next chapter, cryptic-ness that… well, we'll see, won't we?**

**By the way, most, if not all, the disclaimers for this story will be placed in the bottom A/N, so please don't sue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, A:TLA, "Lonely Lullaby", Silly String, or anything else that you may recognize in this story that I missed.**


	6. Protector of the Multiverse

And this is where my world gets turned upside down, inside out, riddled with question marks that are answered with more question marks, resulting in a huge mess, and I'm the one who has to deal with it.

So, yeah, a revolt? Not the best way to start a day. Add hostage situations, guns, and innocent bystanders in harm's way to the mix, and you've just made my day worse. Desert moving in would be nice: it gets kind of quiet in here with just me and Frehor.

Anyway, where'd I leave off? Oh yeah, the whole foreboding feeling while falling asleep…

Yeah, as it turns out, I had this really weird dream that wasn't a dream at all… or maybe it was and it felt real…

I know, confusing, but I started with that long analogy because I still have trouble making sense of this, so bear with me.

Okay, back to the dream-not-dream-or-maybe-was-realm. It was peculiar, really, a circular office with a single black desk in the center. It was rounded into a semicircle, with a pretty nice office chair behind it. The desk was covered in random papers, some looking like school reports, others pieces of art, and more newspapers. Around the medium sized circular rooms were filing cabinets, all labeled in different languages and colors, all in this really sloppy handwriting that was somehow legible (don't ask how I can read it, I still don't know).

And then it felt like a video game because… well, you know how sometimes subtitles appear in an actual cutscene, where the characters talk at their own pace and you can skip it and you don't have to press "X" or "A" or whatever really quickly to get through it? Yeah, exactly like that. It was like I was looking at the room through a camera with the subtitles that were supposed to represent a voice telling me to "Explore".

I remember thinking _Um… okay? _And doing as the voice/subtitles said. I poked around through the filing cabinets, reading (mainly) about the deaths of many historical figures: Hitler, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Marie Antoinette, and many more. I poked around on the desk, seeing more historical events, such as D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, First Battle of the Bull Run, and many more, most being battles with the victors and losers being mentioned.

I poked around some more and found biographies of a great many people, like Helen Keller, Jane Goodall, Walt Disney, and many others who I didn't know.

_Figure it out yet?_ (This is the voice/subtitles for the rest of this chapter unless otherwise stated, by the way.)

"These are all fixed points, aren't they? But I already know this…"

_Now look again._

The room spun, but it didn't give me a headache. It went from a dark, dingy gray to all colors of the rainbow, but mostly shades of gold. The labels were still sloppy, but written on them were things that didn't make sense. Things like "Armandant's French Revolution" and "Summer's Victorian Age".

"I don't understand. What is this place?"

_This is simply The Room. It contains all the information that has been collected._

"So it's pretty much the Internet written down?"

_No. This is information of all fixed points in time._

"Brilliant. Mind telling me why the hell I'm here?"

_You are a protector…_

The images of the civilians from the raid came up.

"So I protected some people. Whoo-hoo, but people do things like that all the time!"

_Keep watching._

More flashes went by: people of all ages and ethnicity, all heights and weights and genders and species.

_You have protected people from strangers, enemies, and even your own friends._

The last images were all of several girls around sixteen, seventeen years old.

_These are the people you gave your life for._

"But I've never died?"

_There is more than one meaning for living, you know._

It took awhile, but eventually it clicked.

_You see? You gave up everything you had to make sure that __**he**__ couldn't harm others… and you saved these girls' lives… whether both metaphorically and physically, we'll never know, because them not being harmed is fixed… because of your decision. And this is what I offer you._

"Who is 'I'?"

_No one's quite sure. You'll have to figure that out for yourself. I offer you a chance to continue doing this on a much larger scale._

"I'm sensing a 'however' in here."

_All magic comes with a price._

"What's yours?"

_You will have to make sure fixed points happen- take on the name of Protector of the Multiverse, and guard fixed points, but only in a certain time period._

"Let me guess- the ones listed around the room are the ones that others have done."

_Yes. If you should choose to accept the position, I shall tell you which time you shall guard, for that is the time you would choose if I gave you time, but you must give me the reasoning._

"To satisfy curiosity or for a more grand reason?"

_Both._

"At least you're honest. Alright, I'll look."

And I did. I read the memoirs and recordings, the discoveries and journals, and so much more that was contained within the cabinets. It felt like I spent eternity there in just a few seconds.

A few of the writings were cut off, however, like the person planned to continue them but never did.

_Have you made a decision?_

I took a deep breath. "Yes, to both, although, am I allowed to ask more questions and get answers from you after… whatever it is you do?"

_You may ask questions and receive straight, complete… well, as complete as they can be with what information we have, answers, but not from me._

"Promise?"

_Yes._

"Alright then."

_Get down on one knee, as if I were about to knight you._

I did, although normally, if someone told me to get down on one knee, I would pretend to and then force them. I trusted this guy, though, for some reason, and it's not like he had a physical manifestation.

_Zarla Mattson, you are hereby charged with Protecting fixed points in your branch of Universe Gamma from the time period of WWII. You are to make sure that the fixed points happen, no matter how much you wish to break them. Do you consent?_

"I do."

_Then rise, Protector of the Multiverse._

I did.

_I see you're going to have a problem in the future if you continue to use the housing provided to you by your friends… I'll give you a home base, so to speak, one where you will find answers... _

"What about the theatre?"

_Do not worry so much about paying your friends for their generosity to you. As Protector, you will not always have the time for a steady job, and I shall give you funding as technically, you are working for me._

"Thank you."

_Anything for my Protectors._

"Then I have a favor to ask of you…"

_You wish to know about the Blue Box of Stars and her residents, don't you? And your mother?_

"Yes… ah, _crap_… I need to call her…"

_All are doing well and missing you terribly… and I'm sorry, but… you won't be able to see them for a little while longer… but I promise, you'll see them before… well, you'll find out._

"I- Thank you." What else was I supposed to say?

_Now wake, Protector… and you'll find that you will never be alone in your endeavors…_

And I listened.

**A/N: I own nothing that belongs to a formal company/organization. The only things that belong to me are this particular plotline and all my OCs.**

**Once again, huge shout out to TechnoGirl317 for helping me out with this!**


	7. Necessary Filler

Honestly, I have no witty comment or life advice that seems appropriate for this place, so we're just going to hop right in.

I woke up with Desert hovering nearby, looking somewhat concerned, which meant she was worried out of her mind. Being a spirit in the Spirit World basically meant you had to show no emotions at all times because some Spirit political crap would happen. So, yes, she was worried. I had apparently talked in my sleep (that was new) and she had overheard.

"I don't know," I replied when she had asked what was going to happen, "I guess we'll find out."

Desert nodded. "I have informed the others. There will only be three other spirits coming with me, the rest will remain in the Spirit World for their safety and to ensure no one destroys our seat."

"Like Percy Jackson, your 'seat of power'?"

"So to speak."

I let it drop: it was pretty obvious she didn't feel like elaborating, and I don't blame her.

Three days passed with me preparing the "guest rooms"- they were pretty much prop rooms with the props thrown somewhere else and had a bed and dresser. They were decorated by Desert, but I moved all the things because I felt pretty useless just watching. So she picked out the furniture and I moved it/rebuilt it. I was confused as to why she only had me prepare two rooms, but Desert simply said "You'll find out when you see them."

No other dreams came to me. I waved it off as a figure of my imagination.

The day came when the other spirits arrived.

For some reason, everyone could see them.

"We would like to participate in the stories we share," one of them explained. I welcomed it- after all, the person who's telling the story should be able to participate and probably play themselves. After all, if I was casting a movie about my life or a part of it, I'd cast the people that were there. It makes sense to me.

Oh, I forgot to tell you what they looked like. Well, the two humans were male and female and looked similar to Desert, except they did not wear saris. They looked a bit more modern, the man wearing slightly billowy pants and a tank top, the woman wearing a long but airy skit with a slit up to mid-thigh. She also wore a tank top with a little shawl over her shoulders. I guess compared to the desert regions, here would be a little cold. On the woman's shoulder was a bird the size of a Macaw made out of… sand?

"Hello," the man said warmly.

"Hi, come on in you guys." I opened the door farther and let them inside.

"Cozy," the woman commented.

"Credit goes to the Gaang on that one." I shut the (repaired) door. "Desert! Your… friends? Companions? Fellow spirits? Eh, the people you invited here are here!"

That got a few raised eyebrows. Masters, I missed Adam. He would've laughed.

I sighed, but quickly got rid of my melancholiness. We're not dead, and I knew what a berrirose meant.

Desert came into the room.

"Noa! Pucha!" (Quick note: pronounced NOW and PU ch a, with a short a sound on the last one.)

"Desert Rose!" All three of them went into a group hug, the bird taking off and flying around them.

I left. It was a reunion between longtime friends, plus there were signs. Yes, we had signs in a theatre pointing to separate rooms, but the hallway with the rooms was labeled "Do Not Enter". The other doors were labeled as well- it was pretty easy to get lost, even with the simple set up, plus I didn't feel like giving the constant tours or passing the duty on. They could figure it out, and if not, well, there were signs to guide them to where I resided most of the time.

I flopped backwards onto my bed. Doc had been kind enough to leave me my bedding and Frehor's bed as well, which the black cat currently was resting.

On the nightstand (a new edition, just a table for me to put stuff on) was a letter. I mention this because it's not supposed to be there, unless DR put it there. So, naturally, I picked it up and saw that it was addressed to me in silver and gold ink. I opened it. There were five letters inside. I picked up the first.

"_Dear Zarla,_

_The letter system applied with you, Adam, and the 'Gaang', as you call them, still applies, but as long as Adam or any of your friends aboard the blue box address it to you, to you it shall go, as the 'Gaang' considers both of you members of the group._

_Signed, Yue._"

I nearly cried out of sheer happiness. At least we could still communicate, even without the TARDIS growth!

Doc and Donna's letters were pretty short, but I saw some tear marks on both of them, which was a possible explanation. Adam's was the second before last.

"_Dear Zarla,_

_You wouldn't believe how we reacted when Yue popped onboard! We had just gotten back from a plant called Trivesta. The planet's only inhabitants were giant Venus Flytraps. They tried snapping at us, but after going in a few circles, we made it back to the TARDIS. Anyway, Yue popped into existence about three seconds after we got inside. I don't know the look on my face, but Doc just stood there going 'what' over and over, and Donna was like a goldfish. All of us nearly tackled Yue with hugs with her news, and I'm pretty sure Doc shed a tear._

_I know I did._

_Gods, we've only been apart for a week and a half and I'm missing you. All I want to do right now is wrap you in a hug and just go to your house and watch cheesy Christmas specials with you and your mom and Doc and Donna even though it's May and not December. And eat the cookies your mom worked so hard on and then bake her some as a thank you and it'd be just like the old days._

_Te amo._ **(A/N: "I love you".)**

_~Adam"_

I saw more dark spots where tears had fallen. Touching my face, I realized I couldn't tell if they were from Adam or me. I gently placed it on top of Doc and Donna's. All three of them were written in TARDIS blue ink, except for the names. Doc's was in gold, Donna's in a reddish purple color, and Adam's in forest green.

I picked up the last letter. When I opened it, I was confused. It was a letter I had written long ago at the Holocaust Museum, when we went on a trip to DC back in middle school. I had gone once before and hardly understood it (I was four at the time, it made no sense to me until a little while later). So when I went again, I wrote another letter to David from "Remember the Children: David's Story". This is what it said:

"_You asked us to always remember. We never forget."_

His last words to us at his exhibit were just that: "Remember the children. Remember my story."

When you first learn about the Holocaust, do you ever forget? Or does it just get shoved into the back of your mind until WWII is mentioned, and then all the torture that they went through is remembered?

The Holocaust is part of my "hell is a state of mind", but it is also a place in this case. And it goes by the names of the concentration camps.

We never forget the Holocaust. And that's what I told David.

I flipped the note over.

"_Five Days."_

That was it. That was all it said, in this yellow/gold ink that looked familiar but I couldn't place. I put it back with all the other letters, making a mental note to make a box for them and write a reply when DR came bursting in.

"Eris!" And she tackle-hug me, bringing me aback.

"Uh… yes?"

"Thank you!"

Normally, Desert was extremely composed… but I guess the whole "not in the Spirit World" thing let her go loose. After all, she was only about my age when she was made into a spirit.

She stood up and noticed the look on my face, apparently, as she explained.

"It is not very easy for a spirit to find a home… as you've seen, many of us cannot be seen, so if we took up residence in an abandoned house, it's very likely that mortals would move in and freak out at the fact that things are moving without anything to hold them. We do not wish to be feared- most of us, at least, so we do what we can to avoid it."

"Well, a theatre is a perfect place for a haunting. Maybe you can invite some of your friends down for Halloween," I joked.

"What's Halloween?"

Oh yeah. They have different holidays.

After I explained the holiday to Desert, she nodded and said "That is not the only reason why I came in. Here you go." She placed a pile of sand in my hands. I looked at it and a baby bird looking remarkably similar to the one that came in earlier popped its head out.

"This is a sand bird, a spirit of sandstorms. When he is older, he will be as intelligent as one of us, perhaps even more so, and able to grow or shrink depending on the amount of sand there is around and what size he wishes to be. He will also be able to create sandstorms, the strength varying. He can carry messages or scout for you, but again, he's a bit young right now to do much of anything outside of a normal bird's instincts."

"He's wonderful… thank you," I told her sincerely.

"He's a gift from all of us, as a thank you."

"You didn't need to do that, but I'm glad you did. What do you think, Frehor?"

The cat turned to me, then the bird. He sniffed him a few times, getting a head butt and rubbed on by the bird. Frehor gently nipped the crest on his head, a way to say "stop". The bird did, and Frehor rubbed back before pulling away and starting to clean himself.

"Well, we won't have to worry about Frehor eating him."

"Brilliant!"

"You've been hanging around me too much."

Desert shrugged. "Possibly. I am going back to Noa and Pucha. We have not seen each other in a long time. But first, what are you going to name him?" She indicated the bird.

"Hm… I think I'll call him… Arasala."

"A good name." She waved and out the door she went.

I placed the pile down on the table carefully. Arasala had fallen asleep in it. I took out a pen and some paper and wrote a reply to everyone. I placed it in an envelope in the windowsill for Yue and wrote on the envelope "Residents of the TARDIS" in blue ink. All my letters were written in purple ink.

Not much happened in the theatre. Noa and Pucha had some brilliant stories. For some reason, the sound system I had managed to set up could pick up Desert's voice, so she would be the narrator (if the story required one). We had our first production two days later, "Legend of the Desert Winds", which was hugely successful for the first run.

Adam and I started a personal exchange of letters, kept in the box my needles had come in. The box and needles were both gifts from Desert.

"You needed a weapon." That was all she had to say on the matter.

Five days later, and another one of those dreams popped up. This time, there was someone else in the office.

_So, Protector, how goes it?_

"Who are you and why do you sound like a great-grandfather?"

Chuckles reverberated throughout the room. It was a man, dressed in a yellow-gold suit, but I can't tell you much else about him. His appearance changed too fast for me to describe even one of them.

_I am, I suppose you would say, the personification of the Multiverse. Everything, everywhere, everywhen, I know about it._

"…I would say neat, but that sounds kind of painful, too. Good with the bad though, right?"

He stared at me. _Out of all my Protectors, you are the first to say so._

"Apparently I'm a lot of firsts for a lot of people. You were the one that sent that note, weren't you?"

He nodded. _Indeed, and this is a message, not an offer. You should find that there will be a swirling white portal outside one of your prop room doors tomorrow. Go into it, and all shall be explained._

"Question! Relax, it's not about this whole, 'Protector' gig. Am I allowed to take others?"

_Only if you give them an object of yours to protect them. The bird- Arasala, yes?- I presume you are taking with you. He can just be carried, he does not need anything special. Your cat has no problem being draped around your shoulders, from what I've seen, so you do not have to give him anything special. _

"Thank you."

He nodded, and the dream world faded.

Following his instructions and, surprisingly, not having to explain a word to anyone (they later told me they too had received dream messages), Desert, Frehor, Arasala, and I disappeared through the portal, leaving the theatre in the care of two spirits. I had given them permission to come up with the name while we were gone.

And to this day, I am the only one who can pinpoint where the name came from, but I wouldn't find out until much, _much_ later what the name was:

Olc Macire Theatre.

Or, _Bad Wolf Theatre._

**A/N: The plot thickens! And in recent, unrelated news: I've finished Kingdom Hearts 2. All that's left is for me to level up and go fight Sepiroth or however you spell his name.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that is copyrighted by any company, all I've got is OCs galore. But don't worry, they've all got roles.**

**Also, shout out to TechnoGirl317 for helping me out with this and putting up with my rants, along with a shout out to several of my friends for the same reason, and helping me with future chapters.**


	8. Howl

Always expect the unexpected is the way I live my life. Traveling on the TARDIS increased it, and just stepping out of the portal made me realize just how important that advice was.

All of us had arrived at this absolutely beautiful planet. There was no pollution, so the stars could be seen clearly. I could make out a few constellations, and each one was a different color. One was blue, another regular white, this one pink, and a few of them were mixed. The grass was this lovely shade of purple which rose just above my ankles, and there was a solitary tree that was this peculiar shade of blue that was somehow light and dark at the same time, as if someone had used a cobalt colored pencil ever so slightly. There were no leaves.

A plethora of colors started towards us, swirling around our little entourage as soon as they got close enough. It was similar to the fire tornado Aang and Zuko had been trapped in, but with only a little yellow from the light colored as such.

A sudden bark had the colors scattering. All of us turned towards the sound to be greeted by the sight of a storm-cloud-before-it-rains colored wolf. This wolf wore a purple bandana with yellow, orange, brown, green, blue, pink, red, and different shade of purple around its neck, the triangle covering its chest.

_Hello._ A female voice rang in my head.

"Is that you?" I asked, indicating the wolf as best I could.

_Yes._ She (?) seemed pleased. _Your companion need no longer to hold onto your items nor hang on you. This is safe ground._

"Thank you." Desert traded me Arasala for my music box, and I took Frehor off my shoulders. He immediately sniffed the grass and tried eating it, forgetting that had hated grass, sneezing, and then walking around but staying near me. I put the music box carefully in my bag (the same one I had woken up with in Avatar Land: dimensionally expanded for the win!).

_Yellow!_ She (?) barked. The yellow colored light from earlier came out of nowhere and swirled around her.

_Show them around._

Yellow… I think it saluted? Then rounded up Desert and Frehor. The wolf held me back.

_You had questions. I believe I have answers._

"Okay. But tell me this first: what can I call you and what is this place?"

_You may call me Tessa. And this place…_ she gestured with her left paw, a jingling sound coming from it. I noticed a metal cuff with a few links of chain coming off. _This place is your "home base", so to speak. It is whatever you decide to name it, but that will come later. For now, all your questions directed towards Protector of the Multiverse can be answered… at least, as much as I can answer them._

"Hey, any info at all is nice."

So I asked my questions, and Tessa answered. There were far too many for me to remember them all, but I've been dealing with the information for awhile now, so I'll tell you what Tessa told me. Not all of it has to do with the Protector of the Multiverse: some of it actually has to do with me as a person, so bear with me while I explain this in the least confusing terms I can.

First thing she told me: Everything is real. I mean, every story, song, television show, idea, drawing, book, you name it, everything we think is fictional is real in some place in the Multiverse.

Let that sink in for a minute. Yeah. Big place, right?

Second thing: the Multiverse. Hopefully, by now you've figured out that it's the word "universe" with a different prefix. If not, well, now you know, right? Anyway, the prefix "uni" means "one". "Multi" means "many". So there are _many universes_. Each one is a different "fandom", as some people say. The Multiverse is kind of like a forest: each tree is a different universe, each branch has a specific thing happening. Write a fanfiction? Added a branch to one or more universes. Draw a picture? Another branch. Get the idea?

Third thing: This is about me, personally, and how I caught the attention of the personification of the Multiverse, because honestly, protecting people was only a part of it.

I'm a "child" of many more people than just my mother. You see, I literally am "the girl who's impossible"** (A/N: Bottom A/N for history lesson.)**. My mother was infertile. Still is, in fact.

So how'd she have me, you ask? That's something we've never been able to piece together. Well, until now, that is.

Here's where shit gets whibbly wobbly timey whimey, so pay attention!

You see, me being born was ensured by the Bad Wolf. Like, Rose Tyler at the Parting of Ways Bad Wolf, goddess of _all time and space_. Yeah, that one. Me being born to mamma was a fixed point, but impossible, but Bad Wolf made sure it happened. So, technically, I am a child of the Bad Wolf and TARDIS, since it was the TARDIS that pointed this out to Bad Wolf.

I'm also a "Star Child"… whatever that means. Tessa told me it had to do with the stars protecting me? Or giving a blessing or something, she wasn't entirely sure what it entailed. She only knew that there was a language only Star Children could understand and that if I met another, I would instantly know that they were one too. That's why I had to hold onto Frehor and Arasala and give Desert something of mine: to protect them, for only TARDISes, Star Children, and a few others could walk through the Multiverse with some semblance of ease.

Good to know.

Yeah, so all this screwed up stuff happened to make me… well, me, and that was what had caught Multi's (because I get tired of thinking "personification of the Multiverse", so I'm shortening that to Multi) awareness, followed by all the protecting I did.

She proceeded to explain my job in more detail. Knowing I was against killing, the Multiverse assigned me something that fit my views: saving! Unfortunately, it would not be an easy task, and only a few could be saved. From what, you ask?

The Holocaust. Yep. I get shipped into concentration camps and I get to save some of the people inside them. The Multiverse would help me, but after awhile, I'm on my own. Well, nice to know he's not shoving me into the ocean without swimming lessons.

That was my main gig, but if I wanted to go somewhere else, I could. I could go just about anywhere, but if I'm called, I have to answer in a reasonable sense of time.

Unfortunately, no dice with being able to see my Doctor, Donna, and Adam again.

Doesn't mean I don't get to go make sure fixed points aboard the TARDIS don't happen.

And then the whole Protecting thing: I can save as many people as I want, however I want, as long as it doesn't break a fixed point in time.

And that was all she had.

Well, kind of. Desert had come back, along with Arasala, Frehor, and Yellow.

"With that kind of news, you're going to need more than needles. I think I should… aha!"

Desert snapped her fingers. I saw a golden glint out of the corner of my eye and felt weight in the shape of an "x" across my back.

Desert drew something out of what I guessed to be scabbards on my back. It was a sword. I had seen a few in the dojo and asked their names, but I forget what they're called. Unlike most swords, this one ended flatly, no point of which to speak, and was curved like a saber. It was meant for cutting and slashing more than stabbing.

"These were mine a long time ago, but I have not had any use of them since I became a spirit… so I pass them down to you. Use them wisely."

"Thank you."

She waved it off. Tessa watched the exchange with interest.

_So,_ she smirked, as much as a wolf could, _what are you going to call this place?_

I thought about it, looking between all that were gathered here and churning over the new info I had just gathered.

"Howl," I declared.

Tessa nodded. _A good name._

"I have another question for you, but it's kind of personal, so you don't have to answer. Why do you have a chain on your left paw?"

Tessa looked down. _A reminder: Freedom… isn't free._

I nodded, sensing she didn't want to go farther. I looked up at the three full moons.

"Well," I began, "where should we start?"

It started with Yellow giving me a tour and telling me about the planet. The colors didn't exactly have a language, but I understood what they meant. Yellow told me that this place was created specifically for me and the challenges I'd face in the future, revealing a training ground made of a desert (I told Desert that she could hang around in there since she already got a tour. She happily _skipped_ into the place, causing sand pillars to rise up. We moved on before a sandstorm occurred), a forested area (which introduced me to the sentinels: Blue and Orange. They protected Howl while I wasn't there) with the same blue trees I saw earlier, and had Red, who was used for brighter light as it was never day here, caused by no sun and no rotation for reasons I can't explain, show me a crystal that was used to enhance its light, and who also introduced me to brown. Brown allowed me to open portals and was part of Red, but there was a second exit in case I couldn't open the crystal for whatever reason on Howl, and Brown had gone through it too many times and taken on the color of the dirt, which remained to this day. It trained itself to be different from Red, since its darker color scheme prevented any useful light. And by opening portals, I mean traveling from planet to planet or place to place in a single universe, though it was doing its best to do the Multiverse, it might take awhile since it took a lot of energy.

Yellow then showed me my living area, which was a large tree suspended by its thick, strong roots. Outside of it was a technological looking station, for pretty much everything. Cooking, laundry, cleaning, gardening, organizing, weapons, cataloguing, you name it, it did it. My bed was a comfy mattress located inside of the tree, along with Frehor's bed nearby on the ground. My bed was located on a shelf a just a little off the ground, with a little room above the head in case Frehor wanted to be closer. Another little shelf below me was for Arasala, if he so wish, but when I asked about Desert, they simply replied that they didn't know where she'd like to sleep, and that they would ask her when she was done playing in the sand and set it up for her.

Also, they informed me that the letter system Yue had hashed out would still work on Howl at any point, again, caused by the lack of daytime. This is where Purple and Pink came in.

Pink was simply for healing, ranging from mortal injuries to a skinned knee. Purple would help out with whatever I needed help with, sometimes working with Green, who could take over for anything except Pink or Brown.

I thanked all of them for their help and told them I'd start tomorrow. They scattered and I climbed up to my bed.

It was going to be a long journey of self discovery.

**A/N: Ta-da!**

**Anyway, history lesson: Zarla's title and mannerisms (ex- "It's smaller on the outside") came long before Clara's, although the release date of this fic doesn't support this. When I heard Clara's title and her say the same thing, I was pretty spooked.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except all the OCs and the planet Howl. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.**

**Shout out to TechnoGirl317 for all her support and help with catching all the typos and all my friends who have the patience to deal with my shit.**

**And future warning: Yeah, there's going to be a lot more cussing in Zarla's Story than there was FiLiAL. Rated "M" for a reason, folks, but nothing sexual, as I said.**


	9. Learning on Howl (Filler)

I swear, if I hear one more person compare time to a river, I'm going to hit them.

It's not a river or a lake or any other body of water you want to compare it to. The best description of it is exactly as the Doctor said in _Blink_: "From a nonlinear, nonsubjective point of view, time is more of a ball of wibbly wobbly timey-whimey… stuff."

I can't tell you how much time I spent on Howl. For all I know, it was five seconds, or maybe it was a century. I still don't know. Howl is one of those places that is timeless.

A lot (or is it very little?) happened on Howl. I learned about wiring and computers, and I was apparently a gifted hacker, being able to break codes and quick to figure out passwords. I made a wristband for the TARDIS coral piece, which, while being part of the TARDIS, was sentient and had chosen the name "Idris" from my memories. She, along with Brown, would lead me to where I needed to go.

Purple and Green helped me out while I was messing with wires or doing chemistry experiments or just cleaning up a bit. These two were my personal helpers and were damn good at what they did. A _lot_ of music was played at this time, depending on what the computer like object could pick up.

A huge project of mine was simply called the Machine, mainly because I didn't feel like coming up with an actual name. The Machine was used for language practice (with Idris, I could speak/understand 6 billion languages, without her, only three) and also for a project.

You see, when I was back in the TARDIS, Doc was working on some sort of formula. Idris knew what he had down and downloaded it into the machine. To help in utterly demolishing the fourth wall here, there'll be a chapter on me discovering Doc doing said formula in "Before the Fall"… eventually. Forget demolishing, we've torn it to pieces, burned it all, and stomped on the ashes.

Anyway, Desert was also teaching me new fighting moves. These were a bit more acrobatic than my style. Luckily, I was flexible and Desert was patient. She also taught me how to wield her dual weapons. All of Desert's lessons were… well, held in the desert. The colors set up a little living area for her, and Arasala resided with her a lot of the time, and Frehor and I occasionally visited her space. She was like a little kid when in the desert, kicking up sandstorms and dancing around. I caught a few glimpses of her here and there while exploring Howl or waiting for an experiment or doing something else. She seemed delighted, and for that, I was thankful to Multi for creating this planet and giving that little spot of desert just for her.

The theatre was doing well, from what I could tell. Noa and Pucha had done an excellent job, saying that I was needed somewhere else and had left. The Gaang knew that this was the truth, but details were being edited out, so through a letter, I told them the whole thing, receiving promises of secrecy and to help run the theatre when they could. Unfortunately, they couldn't come and visit me on Howl, but I didn't mind all that much. I liked the quiet.

And another thing happened: apparently, I was able to control sand, much like a sandbender. It was a result of Desert's blessing. It's unclear as to when I started doing this, but Desert was teaching me a jumping move when I leaped ten feet into the air! The sand had pushed me up like a spring. Desert then taught me all she knew on controlling the grainy element. The sand allowed me to jump higher, run farther, and even strengthened my already powerful kicks. But anything else was done by dance moves. Yes, dance moves. I don't make this shit up.

Tessa is doing well, mainly wandering around the planet. She didn't hail from here and was curious as to the planet itself, so she spent much of the time exploring. She also taught me a language: wolf/dog. The two were pretty similar, so they just classified it as one language. It was fun, learning how to do different yips, barks, growls and howls.

So, as I said, a lot but a little happened. Adam and I continued our letters, and once the Machine was up and running, we could video chat. Doc and Donna did the video chats, but didn't send letters. I didn't mind, I still got to see them. The Machine was used for a lot of things, but mainly the formula Idris had downloaded onto it.

Howl was very quiet and, as I said, timeless, so I was able to learn a lot relatively fast… at least, I think it was fast. The planet became another home to me, which might have to do with the fact that it was made for me. Multi contacted me, telling me about my first fixed point, but said I could do it after I got used to Howl. Once that happened, I told him I was ready.

First stop: Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941. The day the Japanese attacked the "Sleeping Giant".

**A/N: And that was another **_**wonderful**_** filler chapter, once again edited by the brilliant TechnoGirl317. Thanks to her and bellafan22 for reviewing! Also, shoutout to my sister, Irish Lover Girl, and to my two friends who aren't on here for listening to my rants and such about this story. A lot of thought and work goes into this, believe it or not, and the next chapter is something I hope will all have you on the edge of your seats!**

**Disclaimer: I own my mass amount of OCs and the planet of Howl. Everything else that has a copyright on it belongs to their respective owners and so on.**


	10. First Fixed Point: Pearl Harbor

_**TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of gunshots, bombs, gore, etc. It is possible for you to skip over this chapter, but I personally do not think it is all that horrible, but a warning just the same. TRIGGER WARNING.**_

I will never forget this day. Not even if my memories are wiped, this day will always be stuck in my mind, along with the lessons it taught:

Sometimes the things you don't want to hear are the things you need to.

Fixed points are fixed, and it is my job to make sure they stay this way.

I'm going to try to keep out the gruesome details, but I'll tell you what happened.

I was stationed in Pearl Harbor a month before the actual attack, getting a job at the nearby hospital. (Thank you, Adam!) I worked there as an intern, mainly doing check-ups and occasionally setting a bone. Not much happened, and as Multi promised, a house was given to me. (No one questioned the small house that appeared out of nowhere, claiming it had been there awhile and no one wanted it but me, so I took it. Multi was right: there was a bank account that allowed me to pay for the house without taking out a loan.)

Not much happened in that one month. I think the most noticeable thing was that I got my hair cut. It was midway between the middle of my back and my hips for most of my life, but I had no issue with parting with the large amount of hair. It was heavy, hot, and required too much work. My shorter hair style (up to my shoulders) was more convenient and still allowed some elaborate hair styles, just in case. Phone calls and conversations with the TARDIS residents still on the TARDIS were very few, and by that, I called once to say "hi", ask how they're doing, and warn them about calling me because I was in a time period without cell phones' existence. So, yes, not much happened.

Until December 7th, or 8th, depending on where you're from.

I woke up once I heard the first bomb go off. I grabbed the stuff I needed and rushed off towards the hospital, hoping I would make it in time to help.

I did, fighting against the reverse traffic heading towards the airfields. The world was awake with the sounds of bombs and gunfire from both sides. I heard an airplane zoom overhead and rolled beneath a steel awning, gaining some scrapes, but nothing serious. I continued on as soon as it stopped.

My legs were used to running, stars know how much of that we did in the TARDIS, but I was out of breath due to adrenaline. I made it to the hospital I worked at and started helping the man they instantly pointed me to. I swallowed at the sight of what seemed like an ocean of blood originating at the stump of a left arm, but got to work treating it.

The next hour or two passed in a blur, me using water to rinse off my hands as well as giving it to patients. Eventually, I stopped rinsing my hands and just wiped in off on the apron I wore while working.

The men poured in, along with some women and children civilians who were shot or bombed. We ended up using lipstick to mark the ones we had given morphine to, which was all we had left. I had an extra shirt in my bag that was now being torn to make more bandages, but that quickly ran out against the mass of bodies.

Many died, and all the while, the sounds of bombs and gun shots and engines never ceased.

We kept on, the attacks ceasing, but we kept going and going until we could do no more, and continued going until everyone was as treated as they could be. The hospital was overcrowded, and I offered for some patients to be kept in my house, and I took twenty who could still manage to walk into my house.

I looked at my hands and saw blood dripping from them, instantly going to the sink to wash it off, shouting where people could go and that I'd bring food.

I tried getting the blood off my hands, but it wasn't coming off. So I kept scrubbing and scrubbing and Desert (who was following me around, doing what she could, which was, admittedly, not much without raising questions we'd rather not answer) eventually tore my hands away from the sink, turned it off, and dried my hands off, revealing red, not from blood, but my own hallucination. I had heard of things like this happening before, but I never thought it would happen to me.

What made it worse was that I knew it was coming, but I couldn't warn anyone. I had tried to, but it was as if my mouth couldn't work, so I stopped trying. I knew it was because it was a fixed point, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Go sleep," Desert ordered me. I listened.

"Hope none of you are allergic to cats," I commented.

"No, but why would you-" the man who was commenting silenced himself when he saw Frehor come out of nowhere and sit nearby my feet.

"He's why. Get some sleep you guys." I went to my spot on the floor (the bed and couch being taken by those who were in no condition to be sleeping on the floor, no matter how hard they argued) and went to sleep, dreams becoming nightmares without the music box playing.

The next day saw two of twenty off, the rest but three dispersing within the following week. A phone call on the landline was Multi (don't ask) telling me to get out of there, but use the excuse of a family member demanding to move in with them after the attack, all my stuff being grabbed later.

Desert, meanwhile, had gone out, to do what, I don't know, but she came back the day I was leaving with a package in her hands. The other three people had moved back into the now less crowded hospital.

"Open it." That was all she said.

I did as I was told, revealing pink fingerless gloves, much like the ones Ash from Pokémon wears, with little holes in the back so I could pull them on, since the well-disguised elastic wristbands prevented me from opening them.

"Not only will those come in handy when you're practicing, but they'll disguise your hands."

"Thank you."

Not much else was said. We left through a portal that night, me putting all my paychecks into the Multiversal account (made by Multi) and some furniture coming through, with the others being donated. Not one person asked of my disappearance because of my excuse and Multi's interference, making me a simple phantom, a nobody.

We made it back to Howl without issue, the Void giving me a bruise for walking through it. Tessa was waiting for us, chatting with us for a bit before we headed off, Desert to her desert and me to the tree-house… thing. I slept peacefully with my music box playing the tune of the Lonely Lullaby.

The next day, there was a split conversation between me, Tessa, and Idris. Don't ask me how Idris talked, because it's just one of those things that can never be explained. I think it's similar to how she translates. Anyway, the conversation was directed to me asking them "Do you guys know everything about me!?" in slight frustration, because I was sharing stories they were finishing.

_Not everything,_ they replied at the same time. I threw my hands up in exasperation.

"Okay, then can one of you tell me why I had headaches around disasters?"

_Fixed points,_ Idris explained, _that was my,_ here, a word that meant Idris's relationship to the TARDIS's main body, but one that cannot be spelled nor described, _influence on you. It was a warning, except in a few cases where warnings would have destroyed the points, but now that you are protecting those fixed points, being disabled by pain will not do you any good, so Multi, as you call him, healed you of them. You will not be getting them anymore._

"So, yes. Thanks." There was no sarcasm on the last word. I went to train with Desert shortly after.

Much of the time on Howl was spent as I described it: conversations with the residents of the TARDIS nightly, training with Desert or experimentations. I also continued drawing, but I had stopped reading Fanfiction, knowing everything on there was real somewhere and not wanting to make some points fixed by reading the material, but I stayed updated on new movies and television shows and games (usually through Adam, who also kept up with them.)

I also called my mother, but that conversation was private. I will tell you, however, that it was filled with introductions, tears, laughter, and sorrow.

And that was my first on-the-job. The next one was one I was in a love/hate relationship with.

Next up: the concentration camps, and the first début of the WWII renegade that brought hope to those imprisoned inside and despair to the captors:

Einschenkte Überbringer, or _Hellbringer. _

**A/N: And that, ladies and gents, is what separates Zarla's universe from our own. Well, one of many, but it's pretty large. Also, if any of you know German and know that that translation is wrong, feel free to send me a correction. I learned Spanish, not German.**

**Thanks to TechnoGirl317, bellafan22, IrishLoverGirl, and my two friends for listening and helping me out! Next chapter, as I mentioned, will be in the Holocaust, but after that is the first fandom chapter! Which fandom? Wait until it's written!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the large plethora of OCs and the planet of Howl. Everything else is owned by the official company, please support the official release(s).**


	11. Hellbringer's Debut

**WARNING: The next chapter is not explicitly graphic, but it mentions the conditions in the Holocaust, so I do give fair warning that it can bring up ad images. It's okay if you want to skip over this chapter, just message me and I'll tell you the developments this chapter creates. I'm not going to force you to read something unpleasant just for a few tidbits of information. END WARNING.**

First time in the Holocaust was not pleasant, but I have to say, if any of us were expecting happiness and rainbow and unicorns and shit, we were extremely deluded and what kind of school did you go to, because the thing should be burned to the ground.

So, anyway, through a lot of messiness, I got shipped into a concentration camp. The train ride was horrible. No water, no food, no breaks in travel. The dead were never buried and littered the cart. What became of them when the survivors got off is unknown and I'd rather not think about it. Sickness was rampant, and even my winters in Ohio did little to prepare me for the cold. Luckily Adam helped fortify my immune system ever since he learned about it; else I'd get sick as well. We were separated into two lines, and I glanced sorrowfully at the other. I knew what was in store for them: the gassing chambers. I couldn't speak though, but whether it was because it was a fixed point or my own sadness, I'll never know. So I looked forward, doing everything the Nazi soldiers told me to do, dressing down (I wasn't really okay with it, but it was in front of other women. If it was men I would've fought then and there), getting my hair cut to practically down, and getting a number tattoo for identification purposes. None of this really worried me: time travel was amazing, there were things that'd grow your hair back in an hour and things that made tattoos wash off with water. I was sorted into a cabin that was practically already full, but I dealt with it, taking up the smallest section I could so others could have a bit more room. Luckily, I sleep in very odd positions, so sleeping wasn't much of an issue (minus the whole insomnia).

Next day was dark and early, two gulps of… something for breakfast, then onto hard labor, digging a large hole.

Same thing happened, more dying of sickness and others getting sick. I gave away all my food, only getting a bite or two a day. Funnily enough, I wasn't affected by hunger.

Every night, though, before we all went to sleep, the women would always swipe stories. Eventually, one woman, a very kindly one named Gale, asked me to tell a story.

"What kind of story to you want to hear? I know quite a few."

"A fairytale."

I smiled. "I can do that."

So I told them the story (what I remember, at least) of Kingdom Hearts. Adam loved that game, and frequently told me the story, so I retold it as best as I could.

"'I'm always with you, too!' the warrior called to his princess. And then the worlds went back to their proper place. Days passed and turned into weeks, and the Princess finally managed to summon the courage to go into their secret spot. What she saw surprised her, but pleased her so much she shed tears. For there on the rock in front of her was the picture of each other they had drawn long ago, but with a new addition. A mirage of her warrior had drawn a fruit, shaped like a star, then turned and smiled at her before disappearing in a flash. She wasted no time, drawing herself giving one to him. And now she waits for her warrior to return, safe and sound."

A younger woman, Ada, begged me to tell if the warrior returned, safe and sound.

"A little over a year passed before he did, but yes. He returned home, safe and sound, and also saw the drawing. The ending of this remains unwritten, however, so the rest is up to you."

We all fell asleep with lifted spirits that night.

I knew that we had to escape soon, and luckily, Desert (who was watching the guards) came with good tidings.

"There's a party a few days from now. I'd run like there are scorpions on your heels then if I were you."

I nodded, not wanting to wake anyone.

I approached the cabin the next night, eventually getting all of them to join in. We were getting a shipment of new prisoners two days from now, so we'd have to be quick.

The night after that, we all took off in groups of four. Desert and Arasala (who was significantly larger but still unable to fight) watched over the first four while I went with the last one.

The last of my group had just gotten around the fence when it all went to Hell. A spotlight captured three of us, me and the two I was helping, who had just recovered from sickness, and then an alarm sounded.

"Go, you two, don't look back." They obeyed, and I stood there as if paralyzed by fear before running off in a different direction. I paid no heed to the cold. I kept running, somehow not getting shot at. I heard barking, but my steps didn't falter. I tried to shake off the dogs, running into the forest and then in circles, slightly marking the trees with the needles Desert had saved from the pile (she had gotten all my clothing as well and was waiting for me at the rendezvous point with them and some spares she picked up). The barking eventually ceased and I headed on my way.

Five minutes later a bullet went right in front of my face. I looked at it and where it had come from and launched a needle at the area. I heard a body falling. I hope I had only injured the person, but couldn't stick around and find out.

Another bang, but this time, the bullet hit its mark.

I died.

**(A/N: Now, if I were crueler, I'd leave it right here. But I'm on a roll, so on we go!)**

Dying's weird. Well, the experience I had is. I'm aware of my surroundings and then… nothing. As if there wasn't anything at all.

Then it came into view. It was the same room where I met Multi, and there he was, sitting down.

"You just died."

"Well, thanks. I'm not gonna stay dead, am I?" I questioned flatly.

"No. The altered curse prevents you from dying… well, staying dead."

"That's a line, right there. I'm making it a goal to use that."

"Well, this is the last of your time here, for now. Don't make a habit of this."

"I'm not trying to."

And then back to awareness, this time with a splitting headache.

"_Zarla!_" Desert called, rushing over with Arasala in tow.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Five miles away, dressed in new clothes with no prints and perfume scattered throughout the forest, happily eating around a fire, glad for the warm meal. What about…" she let loose an exclamation in her language that I couldn't understand. She had looked at my back and saw the blood.

"Did you get shot?"

"Yeah, but I'm okay. Immortal, remember?"

Desert pressed a hand to her chest. "Don't scare me like that."

I nudged her shoulder. Then I started coughing, gagging almost. When I stopped, I bent my head back like Doc does when breathing out his regeneration dust and released a bit of black and gold dust in a pink vapor, which revealed Pink from Howl!

"Did you heal me?" I asked, receiving an affirmative in reply. "Thank you. Now, let's go help those lovely ladies!"

A week was spent rationing food until we made it to safe land. Well, what I considered safe. Miles outside civilization and away from the concentration camp, I stopped the group.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure all of you know by now that I'm rather peculiar, so can you do me a favor and not freak out?"

"About what?" Gale inquired.

A portal opened up behind me, startling everyone but me.

"That. This is the way to safety. Please, trust me." Silence reigned for a few tense moments.

"Well, you got us this far," Ada spoke up, "All I need to do is walk forward, right?"

"Yep. Everything's already been taken care of as much as they can be, so just keep walking through and you'll come out somewhere safe," I assured. Ada walked through, followed by Gale, then another, and another, until everyone was gone. Since it was in the same time period and on the same planet in the same universe, no one had to borrow any of my stuff. When they were all gone, Arasala flew down and landed on Desert's shoulder.

"Ready to go back, sis?" I questioned Desert, who was shocked by my addressing, "You can't deny that we act like that."

"No," she smiled, "no I can't. And to answer, since day one! Let's get out of this horrid place."

I tossed her the needle pouch. "Lead on."

A cat scratch was all the Void took from me, and it was well worth it. On the way back, I carried Frehor, who had followed me (although I didn't know it) the entire way.

My next stop was a lot happier, but I had left behind something:

A rumor, a whisper, a person who got back up after being shot in the head and had led an entire cabin to safety: a person had brought Hell upon the Nazi guards, and it wasn't the last time she did, although it was the last time someone matching my description was let inside a concentration camp.

When we made it back to Howl, Tessa came with a package from multi, greeting us after I had taken it from her. We greeted her as well, and I opened the package, revealing a tattoo remover and hair grower (like the ones I mentioned), along with laundry detergent and a note from Multi.

_You're welcome and talk to Tessa. ~Multi (I like this, I'm stealing it from you!)_

I laughed, using the products and taking a bath in the lake nearby my tree-house. Desert had returned to guess where, and I went to talk with Tessa.

Tessa revealed that, similar to Sora's clothes in Kingdom Hearts 2 (I'm mentioning that series a lot), mine would also change my form or give me abilities or change to the time period to help me blend in.

_You have the ability to change on your own, should the need arise. You have the heart of a wolf, vicious yet loyal, so that should be the easiest one for you to transform into. You already have the teeth!_

It was true, my teeth were abnormally sharp, and people used to tease me about being a vampire because of it.

So we spent awhile trying to figure out how to change me into a wolf, a theory we used later that succeeded! I just needed to focus on the form I wanted to take.

I became a wolf with brown fur and a purple bandana much like Tessa's, only instead of the colors of Howl, I had a crescent moon with a sand design around a pink rose on it. An "explosion in a bottle" remained on its loop of thread, and I felt the locket Adam had given me safely tucked underneath my bandana (which rested across my back).

Tessa spent a long time (or, again, maybe not that long a time at all) educating me on using wolf senses and abilities until I was able to fend for myself. I reverted back to human form, everything returning as it should, once we were done.

_I'll teach you more as time goes on, but that should work for now._

"Thank you, Tessa, for everything."

She grinned wolfishly.

_Now, where am I heading next?_

**A/N: I went there. Anyway, yeah, next chapter! And Zarla's immortality is like Jack Harkness's, she can die, she's just got a problem staying that way. And, SPOILER, there's a conversation with Multi every time. END SPOILER.**

**Shout out to the following: TechnoGirl317, without whom you'd all have a crapload of typos and grammatical errors and probably wouldn't have this much of this story, bellafan22 for reviewing, Irish Lover Girl for listening to my rants and helping me with ideas and some future scenes, and to my two friends for listening to my rants and one of them for helping me with drawing things for this story! I wish I could share them with y'all, but I lack the tech skills, so I do apologize.**

**Next chapter is the first fandom chapter! And it's also a very special one; it is the only one who has a common character occurring throughout the entirety of Zarla's Story! Which fandom? Well, wait and find out!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plethora of OCs and the Planet of Howl. Everything else belongs to their official owners and companies, please support the official release(s).**


	12. Universe Kappa (RotG)

**(WARNING: Mentioning/fixing of the Sandy Hook Elementary/ Newton CN shooting. Please continue to the next chapter if this event disturbs you.)**

**Universe: Kappa (Rise of the Guardians)**

**Location: Newton, CN**

**Date (Kappa): 12-13-12**

The weirdest day Jack can remember about his Guardian days has got to be when this strange woman showed up.

Not only could she _see the Guardians_ when she appeared to be early 20s in age, she also told them about the future.

The Guardians were stunned. There was an _adult_ that could _see_ them. Not only that, she had told them of an event that would shatter their hearts should it come to pass.

She left without another word, looking down the entire way, disappearing without a trace.

The other Guardians were skeptical. Who was she? How did she know?

It was Jack who convinced them to listen.

"I just get this strange feeling she's telling the truth. She looked as if she felt helpless, which might be the case. I think we should, at least, go and check it out tomorrow around the time she said so. Worst comes to worst, you guys actually get hit by a snowflake for once in a century or five." Jack flicked his wrist, forming snowflakes that hit each Guardian to prove his point. Baby Tooth hovered around his right ear.

What Jack refrained from mentioning is that he felt like he knew that woman.

So the next day, the Guardians headed out, each using their own method of transportation.

What they saw shocked them.

There was the woman from yesterday, standing in front of a teenager with a gun, children behind her. But they weren't sitting down, like how the Guardians usually saw kids. They were up and moving, throwing things at the attacker, ranging from shoes to pencils to basketballs. Jack showed up, landing right next to the woman, who paid him no heed. The few kids that could see Jack relaxed, the other Guardians hiding, but ready to help the children should anything happen. The woman's left hand shifted, drawing the attention of the shooter, who aimed a shot at her but missed. She and Jack took their chance and Jack knocked the gun out of his hand, the woman tackling him and holding him down.

"James," she addressed a child in a calm but strained voice, attempting to keep the struggling, deranged teenager down, "get a trashcan, a small, empty one, flip it upside down, place it over the gun, and sit on top of the trashcan as if it were a chair until the police come, please."

The little boy she addressed did as he was told, grabbing a small trashcan from just inside the glass doors.

The police arrived a few minutes later, questioning the woman, taking the man into custody, so on and so forth.

Jack heard a few of the comments.

"And then Miss Zarla tackled him like a football player! It was awesome!"

"She told us to throw things at him so he wouldn't do anything bad."

"Miss Zarla was playing games with us, and when we heard, we all freaked, but she calmed us down and told us what to do."

Jack meandered over to where the woman was being questioned, ignoring the other Guardians who were signaling for him to hide.

"Where'd you learn that?" the police officer questioned.

"When I was in high school, in the… inauguration, I guess is what it's called, the first thing they did was have us go through a class of ALICE training. And I had taken self-defense classes for just under a decade. I refuse to allow these kids to come to harm."

"Well, thanks to you and your fellow staff's bravery, these kids will live to see the next sunrise. G'day, ma'am."

"G'day, sir."

Then Jack's ankle was grabbed and dragged back, but he managed to send a few snowflakes in the directions of the believers to reassure them he was okay.

He stopped inside a little alcove of trees, dead as they were with Winter arriving.

"Vhat vere you thinking, Jack?" North demanded. Jack felt annoyance build up inside.

"That I was going to help her protect those kids, believers or not, and not just stand back and hide. I could do something, so I did."

"But-"

"Tooth, please don't start. I did what I did, and there is nothing you can say that will make me regret my choice. Sandy, don't give me that look." Jack's annoyance was on his face clearly, now, and Tooth could guess what that look meant. "I've been on my own for 300 years, and not one of you cared about what I did then. Why start?"

"Because we need you, Jack," Tooth replied, both a little saddened and caring. Jack sighed.

"Alright, but spare me the lecture. I'm going to see if that woman will explain anything."

He left before Bunny could try to share his opinion, catching up with the woman who had just left the building, talking with another woman who was _definitely_ not dressed for this weather, was kind of cute, and was floating… wait, what?

Yep, she was definitely floating. Jack flew down, drawing both women to turn quickly and look at him.

"…Hi?" Starting conversations wasn't his strong point.

"'Lo," 'Miss Zarla' said. The other nodded her head, not meeting his eyes.

"So, erm…" What the heck? He's usually better at conversations.

"You're going to ask how I knew about this, who the heck she is, so on and so forth?" 'Miss Zarla' flatly stated more than questioned.

"Pretty much, but I think the other Guardians would like to know as well. You know, breaking into the North Pole and all."

The nameless woman next to Miss Zarla looked at her in shock.

"You did what?" she interrogated, alarmed.

"Technically broke into Santa's Workshop. Why?" Miss Zarla asked casually.

The woman groaned, hand pinching her nose. "You are going to be the death of me one day."

Miss Zarla laughed and turned back to Jack. "Lead on!"

Jack tilted his head at the curious exchange, but did as the woman said and led them to the Guardians.

"What the heck are you doing with the shelias, mate?" Bunny inquired Jack as he led the two in there.

"Leading us to you... I mean, really, what did you think he was doing?" 'Miss Zarla' sassed, making Jack stifle chuckles behind his hand.

Bunny did not take the comment well, but North interrupted before anything could be done.

"Who are you? And how did you know about this?" He turned to Desert. "And who are you?"

Miss Zarla blinked. "I never introduced myself? Huh." This was met by a smack upside the head from the woman in the pink sari.

"Oh, well excuse me princess, but I was a bit more concerned about the kids! Anyway, name's Zarla."

"I'm Desert Rose, but you can call me Desert, like she does." Zarla was jabbed at with a thumb.

"As for how I know about this… well…" Zarla looked uncomfortable continuing, so Desert carried on.

"She was-"

"Is," Zarla corrected absentmindedly.

"She is a resident of the TARDIS, but is currently unable to be onboard the blue box."

Sandy made a picture of the TARDIS above his head.

"Yep. Seen it?"

"Only on television," Jack added, Tooth and Bunny being completely lost, North having some idea because of the toys he made, and Jack and Sandy knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Well, it's real. Adam, he's… well, he's… I'm not entirely sure how to describe our relationship, really, boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't really do us justice and 'lovers' is just… no. Anyway, Adam's onboard and he called me yesterday." Zarla swallowed noticeably, and Desert picked up where she left off.

"He told us about this event, which had just happened in the time period they landed in. He completely ignored the fact that he shouldn't know the future and looked it up. Twenty-six died that day, the majority of which were children in third grade or below."

"It was meant to happen in a lot of universes, but this is the only one where it was flux, so we could change the outcome, and I couldn't be happier that we did." Zarla played with a dead twig nearby.

No one knew what to say, so silence took over the alcove.

"Well, thanks… but we've got to get going. Jobs to do." Bunny tapped a tunnel and left.

"Christmas is nearby, must go and check on yetis." North took off in his sleigh.

"Christmas cavities, which means tooth pulling. The fairies are going hectic, though I loathe leaving. Goodbye!" Tooth called, flying away.

Sandy tugged on Zarla's pant leg, making a symbol of a bed with Z's coming off.

"Job to do? Go on, I get it, it's fine. Kids need some good dreams, especially these guys after today."

Sandy took off as well, leaving Zarla, Desert, and Jack.

Zarla collapsed back onto a bench. "Good stars, that was awkward! I mean, I get they don't get out much… but really?"

"You're one to talk," Desert replied, sitting next to her.

Jack raised his eyebrow, a little stirring in his heart. Could they not see him?

His doubt was quelled when Zarla cracked open an eye. "The hell you still standing for? Sit!"

"I hope you don't talk like that around the kids," Jack mentioned.

Zarla waved her hand. "No, and I got fired anyway. Something about 'should've followed the code' or whatever. The code would've gotten those kids killed. They'd be sitting ducks!"

Jack nodded, having seen Columbine and Virginia Tech videos, instantly knowing what Zarla was referring to. Rather than think about the rather gruesome subject, Jack changed it.

"Why do I get the feeling I know you from somewhere?"

Zarla's eyes shot opened. "You know, I get that same feeling. _I wonder why?"_

"_I… don't know…"_ Jack muttered.

Desert looked confused. "What did you two just say?"

"Huh?" Zarla was as lost as Jack.

"You were speaking in some strange language that I've never heard." Desert frowned, probably out of confusion. Zarla blinked a few times before she said "Oh!"

"What?"

"It's the language of the stars! Jack, you're a _Star Child!_ At least, I'm pretty sure…"

"What's a Star Child?"

"Erm… no one's entirely sure, really, all I know is that I'm one, the stars watch over them, and they can speak the language of the stars, and they know each other pretty much right off the bat… but that's it. It's not much to go off of."

"Okay then. So, that can explain that peculiar note. But why are you still here?"

"Well, I was hoping to see Ohio, or another part of New England. I loved the winters there, Adam and I would always have these huge snowball wars when there was enough snow, and then we'd build this amazing snowman. Which, admittedly, was a failure more often than not, but we had so much fun doing it." Zarla looked into the sky, lost in memories. "I wonder when I'll get back."

"Someday," Desert tried to help her friend. The attempt was ignored.

"Is this how time normally passes? Slowly, and in the right order?"

"You didn't have a problem in Avatar Land."

"I also couldn't remember anything about my adventures on the TARDIS. Now I know them and it makes this just that much harder."

"Hey, would you relax? I will not stand for unhappy faces!" Jack said in an overly posh accent. "No, sirs and madams, no unhappy faces or I will make you smile!"

Zarla grinned, surprisingly. "Can't sit around moping forever! I've got shit to do and not enough time to do said shit if I mope!"

"I seriously hope you don't teach kids new words."

"Nope! It's a handy little thing I call 'Disney mind-set'. Teenagers and older I curse around, kids I do not." A beeping device went off, and Zarla exclaimed "Aw crap!"

"What's that?"

"A timer. I should get back to Howl. Hey Jack," Zarla addressed him, pausing in her rush to get to Howl.

"Hm?" He stood up and leaned on his staff.

"When I come back, how 'bout a snowball war? Just the two of us." She grinned. Desert pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sure, but you're gonna regret challenging the Prince of Winter!"

"Maybe," Zarla sassed, rushing out of the alcove. Desert made to follow her, but turned back to the Winter Spirit.

"Thanks for that. It's the first time she's gotten like that, but it's also the first time she has let her mind rest, other than sleeping, and even then, I believe dreams plague her."

"Guardian of Fun, it's my job. She seems like a kind person. Bit insane, but kind."

"Traveling in the blue box does that to you, I assume. Or perhaps it's just her… but again, thank you." And she kissed him on the cheek and dashed away, leaving a stunned Jack behind, hand on his cheek.

**A/N: What's the timer for? In the next chapter! Fandoms will occasionally get more than one chapter, and other times just a mention.**


	13. Snowball War and Needed

As it turns out, Jack saw the two women the next week in Ohio.

"Why'd you leave?" Jack felt comfortable talking to them without the meaningless chatter beforehand.

"I was forging something. Got a slight burn making it, but it was totally worth it!" Zarla grinned, holding out her hands and showing off light pink fingertips. Desert shook her head.

"Honestly, I'm used to it, Desert. You wouldn't believe how many times I've accidentally exploded something."

"I don't want to find out."

"What were you forging?" Jack questioned.

"A ring."

Jack raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Now, how about that snowball war you promised me?" Zarla smirked.

The war commenced without further comment in the large field. Jack won, of course, but it was riveting just the same.

After the snowball war, the three just sat and talked. Zarla talked about the funniest moments with Adam, some TARDIS trips, and a little bit of her journey in Avatar Land, inspired by Jack asking about the fairly large but mostly faded burn scar on her right arm. Desert added a comment here and there about her own life, but was relatively quiet about herself. Jack was the same, but told of the many pranks he had pulled and some great stories.

"So why were you forging a ring?" Jack asked.

Zarla shrugged. "Adam gave me a necklace, and he already has a bracelet. He thinks I don't notice him wearing that braided string one I gave him, but I do. A ring is small and usually isn't stolen and he can keep it on a chain or not wear it all, but it's like a 'give one take one'. Plus, I wanted to."

Jack tilted his head, showing he understood. He remembered his parents, exchanging gifts on their anniversary, or his mother making something for his dad just because, or his dad picking wildflowers for his mother and bringing them home, where they were dried and set on a shelf or a bowl or whatever they had lying around. Old shoes were abundant and doubled lovely as recycled flower pots.

So they grinned and chatted some more, until Zarla had to leave again, Desert going with her.

"You're welcome on Howl any time, Jack. Just let us know you're there."

"Thanks Zarla." Jack had yet to come up with a good nickname for her. "Zar" was a little obvious and, although he tried to use it, was already taken. He wanted something original.

Desert nodded and waved until they stepped through the portal that would lead them away.

"Oh, Jack, one more thing." Zarla's head popped back out. "The Guardians need you. For you are a kid at heart. And how can you protect what you don't understand? They need you, Jack. Don't forget that."

And without another word, but with a wave tossed over her shoulder, Zarla disappeared into the portal, which soon turned into nothing.

So when the Spirits and other immortals came around for the annual after-Christmas Party held at the Pole, questioning Jack's placement (not to his face, but of course the mischievous spirit listened in anyway), he did nothing but smile at their faces, remembering that one crazy woman who could see him, simply responding to the others confused looks "How can you protect what you don't understand?" before sauntering away.

The spirits never tried talking about it to his face (or in one of the Guardian's homes) ever again.

And Jack found a new home on Howl, where he froze the lake, played with the wolf, Tessa, the sand bird, Arasala (who was almost large enough to learn to fight) and the sentient color-lights, and had fun with Zarla and Desert, teaching the former how to do parkour. He loved the fact that it was always just cold enough for snow, and that no one complained when he laid it down. The purple grass and odd blue trees were soothing rather than scary, and every night, Zarla would point out the constellations she had just found and named.

It was nice, but Jack had other jobs, so there was constantly a portal to and from Howl only Jack could access. He spent an equal amount of time between the two places. The Guardians knew he was with Zarla (Jack still had very few believers, and an adult seeing them was rare for them but not unheard of), but not where he was. The residents of Howl enjoyed the quiet too much for the others to spoil it.

One event of almost-tragedy can lead two souls who need one another to each other. Zarla needs a reminder to not dwell on things and to have fun, and Jack needs someone to remind him that there is such a thing as too much fun. And Desert, lovely little Desert Rose, needs someone to remind her that not all is lost, and Zarla finds Jack fitting that role perfectly. So she smiles, and wonders if this is how people felt around her and Adam.

**A/N: No, Zarla is not proposing marriage. It's like a class ring kind of thing, a way to say the same thing as her berrirose but in a different way.**

**Next chapter is also a fandom chapter. **

**Shout out to the following: TechnoGirl317, who catches my typos and grammar mistakes, Irish Lover Girl for listening to my rants, giving me ideas, and proofreading said ideas, bellafan22 for reviewing, and my two friends who listen to my rants and look at the artwork I made.**

**Disclaimer: I own my large collection of OCs and the Planet of Howl. Everything else belongs to its correct owner, which isn't me.**


	14. Universe Iota (Inheritance Cycle)

**Universe Iota: Inheritance Cycle**

**Time: Between the end of "Brisingr" and the beginning of "Inheritance", with some wibbly wobbly circumstances.**

"Remember the past, live in the present, and fear not the future, for it does not exist, and never shall. There is only now."

How many of you recognize that quote? If you do, guess where we went next. If not, well, you'll find out.

It wasn't like we _meant_ to go there, it just kind of… happened. One moment we were walking towards Howl, the next, we fall flat on our backs in some nondescript field in what seems to be the middle of bloody nowhere. I fell unconscious, probably from hitting my head (you better believe I got a killer headache after that), so the next thing I know, I'm waking up with a female, about 15, sitting down in front of me. She had pale skin, and by pale, I mean as if she had never seen the sun in her life. Her hair was pitch black, and her eyes were storm-cloud grey, darker than Aang's. She wore a black tunic tied with a royal purple sash and gray pants that were tucked into black boots. She wore a purple charm that looked like two twelve faced pyramids stacked on top of the other, attached at the bases, on a black cord around her neck. Beside her was another woman, this one looking a little older than me, with black hair with deep red on the ends (not fire engine red, but not wine red either). She wore a grey tunic, tied with a sash which color matched her hair, and black pants that rested over red Converses. Her eyes were a startling electric blue, and she wore fingerless gloves that matched her sneakers and sash.

"Um… hi?" I ventured unsurely. Who were these people?

"Hello," the grey-eyed one said… somewhat pleasantly, but also somewhat flatly.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Alagaesia, time one." The blue eyed one remained silent, so it was dark and purple doing the talking.

"…Wow. Um. Okay." Not the weirdest thing that's happened to me, but still rather surprising. "Why'd you call me 'time one'?"

"You reek of different times; the fumes of 2012, the air of 1712, and the gunpowder of 1942," she explained.

I blinked. "Alright then. Can I get your names so that way I'm not just calling you 'grey and blue eyed one'?"

"Sombra," the grey eyed one introduced herself, "and this is Zorra."

"Zarla," I informed them, getting up and offering my hands to them, "but there's someone missing…"

"There you are!" Desert came… running/floating towards me (she was running, but it was much faster and above the ground), stopping with her hand on my shoulder. "I was wondering where you were."

"That much was obvious."

Sombra blinked. "Who are you?"

Desert turned to her. "Oh, forgive me, my name is Desert Rose, but you can call me Desert for short."

Now it was my turn to be surprised, but I passed it off. It wasn't often people who weren't spirits were able to see Desert (this is what Desert herself had told me), but it was refreshing for her.

"I have a feeling you will be here for a few days." Sombra took my hand, getting up, then Sombra extended the same courtesy to Zorra, who took her hand. That's when I noticed the sword on Sombra's waist and the daggers Zorra had. I didn't pay them much heed, though. I've had guns pointed (and shot at) my head before, swords scare me less than they used to. Sombra and Zorra led us to a large camp in a field. There was a crimson pavilion in the center.

"Lady Nasuada likes to know who's in her camp, and if you have anything to offer to the Varden," Sombra explained, "they are the freedom fighters of this world. They fight against Galbatorix, the Maddened King. He killed almost all the full grown dragons, most of the Dragon Riders, and left only four eggs. Only a select few survived, those being twelve on his side and two on ours. The twelve on his side died, though I forget how. The two on our sides died recently, one happening only a short while ago, although I do not recall how long ago that was."

"How old are you?"

"I am fourteen years of age. Why do you ask?"

"Because you speak so formally. I've got a habit of slurring and slang, not to mention cursing."

Sombra shrugged. "It is who I am."

"Alright."

We had arrived at the pavilion, which was guarded by two bulky humans with goat horns (Urgals), two dwarves, two humans, and two more humans, but these people had no detail on them. Well, actually, they had quite a bit, but there was no color on them except black. Not even their eyes had whites or irises.

"My warriors, the shadows. Come, Nasuada will be waiting." Sombra turned to the guards.

"Lady Sombra and Lady Zorra and friends request an audience with Lady Nasuada."

The words were repeated to whoever was inside, receiving an affirmative, apparently, and our whole lot moved inside. I saw the shadows moving in unnatural ways, which made me a bit uneasy.

Again, Sombra whispered in my ear. "Do not worry; they are not the evil creatures that devour the flesh. They are shadows, and my presence makes them feel safe to move, for I protect them and speak for them."

I nodded, and that was when I noticed six people in the pavilion, the shadow of a large creature on the other side of the tent, but what it was, I didn't know. I read the books a long time ago, but I could still remember that it was probably the dragon called Saphira.

All six of the people were looking at our little entourage. Sombra inclined her head, as did Zorra, so I did a little bow while Desert did nothing. She was royalty in her past life, so she did not feel the need to. Or maybe she thought they might not be able to see her, I don't know for sure. I never asked.

"Sombra, who is this?" A dark skinned woman asked.

"A friend of mine." Seeing as she made no move to continue, I added a name so that way they wouldn't have to keep calling me "Sombra's friend" or whatever they were addressing me as.

"My name's Zarla."

The dark skinned woman nodded. "I see. I am Nasuada, leader of the Varden. This is the Dragon Rider, Eragon," a teenager a bit younger than me with brown hair and eyes nodded, "Arya, the Elven Ambassador," a woman with sleek, catlike features and green eyes looked at me, "Orrin, King of Surda, my general, Jormandur, and Angela."

"What, no title?" The curly-haired woman asked, though it was more teasingly than offended.

"I have neither idea as to what titles you may have, nor which you prefer to go by," Nasuada defended. I saw Eragon's lip twitch.

"So, what brings you around the desolate plains?" Angela asked me.

I thought for a second. "Do you want the truth or what you want to hear?"

"The truth, mostly, but let's hear what we all wish to hear first."

"I'm a warrior who has heard of the amazing prowess of the Varden and have come here to bare my sword against others to seek glory and free Alagaesia from the Maddened King. I request nothing other than a place to sleep and a spot in the army, and any food you may have to spare."

"And the truth?" Eragon asked.

"I have no idea how in the name of the stars I got here, Sombra found me conked out in a field in the middle of nowhere. I am trained to fight, though I refuse to kill anyone, and I will join you for a time period, though how long that is, I don't know. Also, part of what I said is true: if you do wish for me to join you and I have your permission, I ask only for a place to sleep. I do not require food, weapons, training, or anything else. Well, actually, it'd be nice to know I'm not gonna get killed in my sleep, but… eh. Life, you know?"

Angela grinned. "I like her."

Everyone else in the room looked at Nasuada, though Eragon looked a bit zoned out.

Nasuada nodded. "I'll have a tent erected for you. Is it alright if she has the one next to you, Eragon?"

A second passed. "Saphira and I have no issue with it, although she does wonder if you snore," Eragon smiled.

I shrugged. "I've been told I haven't… but they might be lying."

A snort came from outside. I assume Saphira heard me. Nasuada, meanwhile, had sent a runner.

"It's settled, then. Eragon, would you mind showing Zarla where her tent will be?"

"Not at all, my lady."

"Thank you, Lady Nasuada." I bowed slightly again and followed Eragon out of the tent.

Desert had made no comment, but she floated along with us as Eragon showed us where his tent was. It was one of the few with a large clearing beside it.

"Let me guess, for Saphira?"

My question was answered when the glittering blue dragon came down from the sky. The description in the books did her no justice- she was more beautiful than most everything I've ever seen, only the TARDIS beating her.

Apparently my awe showed on my face.

"First time seeing a dragon then?" Eragon asked as he went up to Saphira to scratch a certain part on her head, resulting in a low humming.

"Yep. It's an honor, Saphira."

"I never told you that this was Saphira," Eragon frowned.

I looked at him. "Well, unless you have a different female hiding in your tent…"

Eragon turned beet red, Saphira making this odd sound that I realized was laughter. Eragon swatted her leg and disappeared into his tent.

_Don't worry, young one. He easily embarrassed about that subject._

"Not the first one I've known like that." There was only one tent next to Eragon's, and Desert disappeared inside of it.

Saphira stared at me. I stared back. It wasn't a battle of wills, more of an analysis of character. After a few minutes, Saphira snorted.

_You have seen much, young one, perhaps more than you should._

I shrugged. "I don't get a choice in what I see, though I do get a choice in how I deal with it."

Saphira revealed her teeth in a friendly manner… kind of. _Harm any one of them and you'll have me to deal with._

"Wouldn't have a nightmare about it."

Saphira looked at me curiously.

"My mind works in a really strange way."

Saphira hummed, curling around Eragon's tent. I disappeared into my tent, telling Desert quietly about what happened.

I sat quietly for a little while before a knock came on my tent flap.

"Come in."

Eragon walked in. "Hello."

"Hi."

"Sorry about earlier-"

"And here's where I'm going to cut you off. It's alright; I've known people who would start fist fights over that kind of thing."

Eragon's eyebrows raised.

"I've known a lot of people."

"You say you've been trained to fight." Way to subtly change the subject, Eragon. "I'd like to test that."

"You're asking me to spar."

"Yes."

"Don't kill me, and you have a deal."

I think it was hard for Eragon to decide whether or not I was joking, because he ended up chuckling awkwardly. We walked out of the tent, Desert and Saphira following, plus a few others who looked like Arya (elves), out to a somewhat secluded field. Eragon held a bright blue sheath in his hand, and he looked curiously at me when he saw I didn't have anything except my pouch.

"Where are your weapons?"

"Here," I said, patting my pouch, "and here." I grabbed the handle of the blade that had appeared on my back. Eragon raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"They're not exactly mine. A friend gave them to me to use, and she taught me how to use them. I guess they're a bit more special than I thought." I was on the TARDIS, I watched Adam play Kingdom Hearts, plus I played a bit of it myself (what a disaster), so weapons appearing out of hammerspace isn't that new or surprising to me.

"Who is this friend of yours?"

I grinned, as did Desert from beside me, but I told him nothing. Let Desert have her bits of fun, stars know she deserves it.

Eragon stopped walking.

"Someone you've met but never will," I said.

His brows furrowed before nodding and walking to the other side of the field.

It was a nice field; no potholes ("ankle-traps", my mama used to say), green grass that wasn't slippery, and some pretty large trees were scattered around, making a windbreak and a semi-secluded area. The trees are important, remember them. A bit farther away, the elves started sparring or shooting arrows at targets.

Eragon tried to get me to circle with him like in those cliché movies, but I just did what we call "stop sign footwork" in the dojo. We stand in either a hill climbing/bow stance or a 60/40 (sixty percent of your weight on your back leg, forty percent on the other)/monkey stance and move in eight different spots, like there was a stop sign on the ground and we were moving around its sides. So I wasn't circling with him, but I was always facing him. Both the blades Desert had given me were drawn and in my hands. I watched Eragon for any "tells", hints that he was going to strike. I got one when his right foot (back foot) twitched, then he rushed at me faster than Doc had ever run. He pulled a horizontal slash at me, which I blocked with my right sword, using my left to swing at him. He jumped back, a small frown on his face before charging back in.

Block, dodge, jump, slash. My mind was miles away, but matching him blow for blow. It wasn't entirely natural, but I had been training a lot, even sparring against Desert from time to time, so it wasn't awkward, either.

Time passed, though how long, I don't know, but I was starting to get bored. I noticed Eragon had pushed me toward the trees, and I smiled a bit inside.

I know it was only a brief mention, but Jack had taught me a bit of parkour, and guess what that included?

Yep. Running up walls… or, since there was a lack of them on Howl, trees. These ones would probably work a lot better, seeing as they weren't as smooth as the blue trees on Howl.

So, doing what Toph had indirectly taught me awhile ago, I waited. It was after Eragon had done a vertical strike. I jumped backwards, turned on my heel, and ran up the tree, launching off and doing a back flip, just as Jack had taught me, landing facing Eragon.

While impressive, as proven by Eragon's smile when he turned around, it didn't do much except let me show off. We continued, but Eragon won our sparring match pretty easily. He wasn't winded at all. I was slightly out of breath, but nothing like I hadn't had oxygen in the past twenty years.

Desert congratulated me, saying that I did well.

"Are those your first weapons?" Eragon asked curiously.

"No, my first weapon was the staff." Nothing more than a rod bought for 30 cents at a construction store.

"You sound as if you've trained with more."

"I have. First it was the staff, then a little bit of saber, then daggers, throwing needles, and now these." I gestured to the swords on my back.

"Do you have any idea how long you may be staying?"

"I can tell you this much: I can't go into battle. That's all I know. I'll help prepare for it, but leave me out of the act."

"Why?"

"My morals. My scant sanity. Eragon, the reason I seem a bit happy-go-lucky is because I choose to be so, because if I'm not, memories come into my head. Blurry, discolored, and the sounds are too fast, too slow, or missing, but haunting all the same. My memory is good for things I wish it wasn't. I can remember so many gruesome details, but ask me what I was doing an hour ago and I can't tell you. Going into battle would destroy me from the inside out, and I have a promise to keep." I felt the locket Adam gave me underneath my right hand. "It's too important for me to kill myself without doing any physical harm."

"A promise to keep, eh?"

I nodded. "I'm not letting it go. Not until I make true of it."

Eragon smiled a knowing grin. "I know the feeling."

We walked back to the tents, talking about nothing in particular. It was sunset by the time we got back, and I dived into my tent and relaxed before falling asleep from tiredness and boredom.

**POV CHANGE!**

_I don't know why, but she's very easy to talk to_, Eragon thought to Saphira.

_Perhaps it is because she does not expect or ask for anything, other than people not slitting her throat as she sleeps._

A smile made Eragon's lips twitch. _Perhaps. She seems friendly enough, and I know Queen Sombra vouched for her, but she hides many things._

_Don't we all, little one? She hides secrets, possibly because of what she described. Her memory is far too good at remembering that which she does not want to, or so she claims. More than likely she keeps them hidden because she has too._

_Mm. There's something else about her. A very important air that she doesn't even to seem to realize is there, as if she were a Queen but was unaware of her status. Did you notice?_

_Aye. But the way she carried herself was false. She walked with self pride that wasn't there at all, and dignity that was all but gone in her mind. We should ask her about that._

_Let's see if she gives a straight answer. Her words are as twisted as gnarled oak, and her riddles could stump even Angela._

_I doubt that. Besides, to outsmart Angela, she'd have to outsmart me._

_Then do you understand what she meant before, about her friend?_

_Yes._

_Can you give me a hint?_

_There but not, her friend walks beside her, but no one can see her at all._

_Thanks, Saphira._ It was half sarcastic, half grateful.

_I know no more myself, little one. Now get some sleep, else tomorrow will be more trying than it already is._

_Goodnight, Saphira._

_Goodnight, Little One._

**A/N: Good God, I have got to read those books again. My memory's fuzzy.**

**Anyway, Zarla's main purpose in Alagaesia will be completed next chapter, then we're back to WWII rescue operations! Believe it or not, there's only one or two more fixed points, because to me, war is a roll of dice and a flip of the coin. You know what you're hoping for, but never what you'll get.**

**Also, I keep forgetting to write in **_**Desert**_**, much less Frehor, but don't worry, the sneaky feline will appear next chapter.**

**WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO (AKA Spoilers for Next Chapter): How many of you caught the Doctor Who references in Inheritance Cycle? Well, we're getting more than Zarla and a reference next time…**

**Huge shout out to: TechnoGirl317 for previewing each and every chapter and catching my mistakes, and also for getting my lazy ass moving, to my sister, Irish Lover Girl, for listening to so damn many of my ideas and helping me with editing them (SPOILER: she's going to be helping me real soon on a future chapter) and generally putting up with me (stars know how freaking annoying I get), bellafan22 for reviewing and reading this story, and my two friends who listen to me explain everything about Zarla's Story, including future ideas, and giving me ideas, too. One of them has actually helped out with FiLiAL as well, and has helped me pretty much write one of the last chapters. We're actually going to be there pretty soon. Many ideas, but some only get a brief mentioning.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plethora of OCs (Sombra and Zorra being the most recent additions) and the planet of Howl. Everything else belongs to its respective owners/company.**


	15. Iota: Darkest Before the Dawn

I woke up alone in the tent Desert and I shared. I walked outside, noting that it was that weird period that wasn't quite sunrise but wasn't moonset either. (Moonset is like the sunset, only with the moon. It's much less flashy.) Desert stood out there, looking towards the east. She liked watching the sun rise, she told me. I told her I should start calling her Sunflower.

She smacked me upside the head. It didn't hurt, but the message was received.

I climbed up a nearby tree. I think the sunrise looks best seen from above the ground for some reason.

"What are you doing?" I looked down to see Eragon at the base of the tree.

"Watching the sun rise. You?"

"You speak strangely."

"And you're avoiding the question."

Eragon grinned, slightly. "That I am."

I shrugged, used to it.

Eragon walked on to somewhere else.

_There's something familiar about you._

I nearly jumped out of the tree when I heard those words inside my head. Looking around, I noticed a very large cat with blood-red eyes standing where Eragon was. Frehor, on the other side of the tree, peered around it, silently staring at the larger cat, who looked at him.

_He's… slightly more intelligent than the other beasts._

"I've noticed. I'm Zarla, and you are?" It wasn't snappish or anything, it was just curious.

The cat blinked at me. _You can call me Solembum. Angela is interested in meeting you and asked that I lead you to her._

"Will you?"

_I had a reason for coming here; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered getting up._

"Well, thanks for considering I'm important enough to get up for."

A swish of the tail and Solembum marched off, myself following close behind. After about ten minutes (it was a large camp), we reached a tent that Solembum padded through. I gently knocked on the pole in the middle, receiving a beckon inside in a prompt manner. I ducked into the tent and was assaulted by plants and vials. A shelf, table, counter, I couldn't really tell, was stationed in a corner, and Solembum made himself happy on there. In the center of the tent was a cauldron, the woman I met yesterday named Angela stirring the mixture contained within the pot.

"Solembum said you wanted to meet me."

All of a sudden, I had this feeling. It was the same feeling Adam and I had in Avatar Land… was it really a year and a half ago? Anyway, it was that familiar urge to just _run._ It wasn't because of Angela, but I needed to leave soon after. A single sentence popped into my head.

_It's always darkest before the dawn._

I missed what Angela said because of this. My attention strayed to a blue knit hat. But it wasn't just any blue.

It was TARDIS blue, with a line of runes around the brim.

"What does that hat read?"

Angela raised her eyebrows, not looking away from the pot. "Raxicor- oh never mind, it wouldn't mean anything to you."

"Would that entire word be 'Raxicoricofallipitorious'?"

Angela blinked and looked at me. Even Solembum stared at me. Frehor curled around my feet, weaving in between my legs.

I grinned a bit. "Ever seen a box that's bigger on the inside?"

Angela laughed. "Met the Doctor, have you?"

"Travel with him. Err… traveled?"

Angela tilted her head.

I sighed. "Things happen on that blue box. We've been separated for an indefinite amount of time. But I'm getting back."

Angela patted my cheek. "Good on you. Pass me those leaves, would you?"

I exited the tent shortly after from Angela's prompting. Desert went and explored the area and I, having nothing better to do, went and climbed up the tree I was in earlier. Eragon passed by again.

"Did you ever move?"

"Yes." I made no move to elaborate. "Where's Sombra?"

Eragon pointed. "On the other side of the camp. She stays with her warriors, who are nearby the Urgals."

I nodded, looking at the sky.

"What are you staring at?"

"The sky."

"Why?"

I grinned a bit. "Because I never know when I'm going to see it again."

Eragon's eyebrows raised. "You live a dangerous life."

I snorted. "So does everyone else, although they don't realize it. No one knows if they're going to be struck by lightning or have a stray arrow land in their heart that day. But… I usually find that times are darkest before the dawn."

"That sounds like a good-bye."

"It is. My time here is up. Places to go, people to meet, time and planets and people to save." I jumped down, landing in front of Eragon. "I'll probably only be able to say good-bye to Sombra before I have to go. Can you tell everyone else I say good-bye and mean no disrespect by a hasty exit?"

Eragon nodded. "I'll pass it along. And Zarla… thank you."

I grinned, jogging over to where Eragon pointed, throwing a wave over my shoulder, receiving one in return.

I arrived at the other side of the camp in about ten minutes. Running for your life makes you faster, you know, even when you aren't running away from an alien village with pitchforks. (That's happened more than I care to admit…)

More of the shadows were wandering around. I asked one where I could find Sombra. The shadow (looking like a man) pointed to a tent. I thanked him (it?) and went on my way, knocking on the pole.

Sombra came out.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Time for me to go: planets and people to save, fixed points to make sure happen…"

Sombra's lips turned upwards at the corners just a hint. "Will we see you again?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. Idris here takes me where I need to go… so maybe, maybe not. I might come back, but you might be dead for a century."

"You are honest with me, at the very least." Sombra clapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck, time one."

"Thanks, I'll need it at some point." I started heading off, but I turned back. "And Sombra… it's always darkest before dawn."

I left the stunned teenager blinking.

I met Desert in the tent, all the stuff packed into a bag and her holding my needle pouch.

"Got the memo?"

She nodded.

"Back to Howl we go, then."

"Did we even do anything here?"

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head, pausing in putting my bag over my shoulder for a second before continuing.

"I mean, in Kappa, we met Jack and prevented the Newtown shooting. You gave Noa, Pucha, Narmbla, and I a home in Delta. Everywhere you've gone, you've done something to help someone. What did you do here?"

I thought. "I don't know. I like to think, though, that I caused a bit of havoc. Stirred things up." The feeling got stronger.

"I think we have to go."

Desert nodded. "Where to?"

"The clearing Eragon and I sparred in." I don't know why I knew to go here. I assume it was Multi responsible for the feeling and knowledge.

I got a mental image of Multi sticking his tongue out. Yep. Definitely him.

There was a portal waiting for us at the clearing. As we walked through, I heard Saphira roar.

It was louder than a thousand trumpets, full of pride and courage and defiance. It was a challenge call… and it was good-bye.

I whistled in return, an old tune Adam taught me long ago.

Little did I know that song carried on the wind, bringing a smile (or equivalent) onto the people I met faces.

More cat scratches appeared on my arm as we traveled through the Void. We made it back to Howl, where we were greeted by the sight of Jack playing a version of tag with Yellow and Tessa, breezing past us.

Desert and I glanced at each other and laughed.

It was nice to be back.

**A/N: I know, I know, most of them are out of character but I just really wanted Zarla to get out of there. Next up: No idea. We'll find out, won't we?**

**Note: Delta is Avatar Land. Most of the universes are the Greek alphabet. So, yes, there will be some that are named, usually at the top of the first chapter of that universe. (Example: Kappa is RotG, Iota is Inheritance Cycle)**

**ALSO: I started school, so that means slower updates. Sorry!**

**Huge shout out to: TechnoGirl317, for editing this and just being overall amazing in the production of this story, Irish Lover Girl for helping me with ideas and for future writing help, bellafan22 for reviewing, and my two friends for helping me with artwork, ideas, names, and basically being epic with helpfulness.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plethora of OCs and the Planet of Howl. Everything else belongs to its correct owner(s).**


	16. The Schlecht Lupo

The Ninth incarnation of our favorite Time Lord sat in bar chock full of happy aliens. The bartender, a humanoid-squid creature that was mostly human except for the eight tentacles that replaced legs, slid a banana daiquiri down towards the Doctor, receiving a raised glass and a glance in thanks. The Doctor quietly sipped his drink, thinking about what had recently happened.

Rose Tyler had turned down being a companion. While not the first time this had happened, the loneliness left from the Time War made it sting more. He had gone back in time, hanging around Earth, helping little bits and pieces, saving a family from going on the Titanic to prove… _something_ to _someone_. Perhaps he was trying to convince himself he wasn't always a harbinger of destruction. Moving on, the Doctor sat and drank his fourth daiquiri of the night, listening to the horrid singing of another alien, this one more insectiod in nature, looking something like a beetle.

This is when he noticed the bar door open again, a humanoid coming through the doorway, holding it a bit longer than strictly necessary. She was dressed casually- purple t-shirt with a three-fourth sleeved emerald dress shirt unbuttoned over it, brown trousers, pink fingerless gloves, and purple Converse. Her short brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail, her steel blue eyes wandered around the building before she walked and took one of the two available seats- one on either side of the Doctor. He noticed a leather pouch at her right hip.

"Anything for ya?" the barkeep asked.

"Do you have anything nonalcoholic?" she requested in an American accent with a slight British tinge.

"We've got cola," the barkeep shrugged.

"I'll take that then."

Thirty seconds later, a glass was slid down to her.

"Thanks." She drank, draining half the glass in one swig.

"Long day?" the Doctor asked humorously.

"More like long month," she replied.

"What brings you here?"

She shrugged. "Needed a loud atmosphere. It's too quiet where I came here from."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at the wording, but let it go.

"What're you here for?"

The Doctor shrugged. "No particular reason. Felt like coming in."

"You're lying."

"What?"

She sighed again in exasperation, not making eye contact but waving her hand nearby her head in a dismissive manner. "You're lying. I've got this friend. He lies a lot, usually when he thinks it's for our own good, but I usually call him out. Keeps him from doin' something stupid, like getting himself killed."

"He does it a lot then?"

"I swear it's at least once every other day, or once a week if not that."

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "What's your name then?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

"Why not?"

The woman slid the glass back down to the bartender, politely requesting another drink and getting one before explaining. "You're going to have to repress these memories of meeting me, Doctor. You meet me… oh, four or so years down the road?"

"Then why are you here?"

"Because, quite frankly, you need a kick in the ass. Rose Tyler just said no, right? Relatively speaking?"

The familiar sting came back. "Yes."

"You forgot to mention something."

"Like what?"

"Like the first two letters of the TARDIS." Annoyed and amused were a strange combination, but this woman nailed it.

The Doctor blinked. "Oh. Oh!" Then he grinned and threw money down on the counter, enough to cover his drinks and hers.

"Fantastic! Drinks on me!" he told her, running off to his beloved ship.

The woman grinned as well, though there was sorrow in it. "Hit me again, would you please?"

WIBBLY WOBBLY TIMEY WHIMEY….STUFF (Line Break!)

The Doctor, this time the tenth incarnation, sat in the same seat in the same bar where he had met the woman who encouraged him to go to Rose. He knew he shouldn't keep this memory, not for long, at least, and he assured himself he'd get rid of it soon, but there was a feeling in the back of his brain where he felt he needed this memory.

He knew he was right when the woman entered, looking exactly the same as she did before, and a few new scrapes on her forearm. A cat did it, from the looks of it.

The Doctor had just lost Rose Tyler. He had come here because it had the cheapest daiquiris he knew of, other than the ones on the TARDIS that were free, but he didn't feel like making them himself, and the TARDIS was also mourning. So, he came here, why, he didn't know, but he thinks he just figured it out.

The woman sat down in the spot next to him again, ordering another cola. The same bartender from last time slid it down, the atmosphere quieter than it had been last time the two came, as it was now one in the afternoon rather than morning.

"You lost her, didn't you?"

He didn't question how she knew. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

The Doctor shrugged.

They drank their drinks in silence, mourning the loss of Rose together.

"It's strange, you know," she began out of the blue.

"What is?"

"Time travel. Because we are still governed by linear effects. Time changes us, but we can't change it. And I guess this is something like 'when everything's going right, expect something to go wrong.' I don't know. But, perhaps, that's better."

The Doctor took in her words, not that they made him feel any better, but because he knew she could understand. "To Rose Tyler." He raised his glass, her cola meeting his daiquiri.

"To Rose Tyler, our big, Bad Wolf."

And together they chugged it down. The woman placed money on the counter. "You'll have to repress these until two years after you meet me."

The Doctor nodded, about to take out some currency to pay for his drink, but the woman stopped him. "On me this time. See you later, Doc." She started to leave, but turned back. "You know, this friend of mine… different friend, this time. He taught me something important. Don't forget the past… but don't let it rule you, either."

And he listened.

Years down the line, when the TARDIS accidently goes through a hole that lead to Gamma, the woman's universe, where two teenagers help tem save the world from bees and the TARDIS wants them to stay.

And they do.

**A/N: Typed up before school started and posted on a sleepless night.**

**Up next: Dunno, but we've covered **_**three**_** fandoms as opposed to the original two. It's going to be either a Hellbringer or fixed point chapter next time round (leaning towards combining the two, having Hellbringer show up because she's in the area). This fic is actually mostly fandoms with a little timey-whimey-ness thrown in. OH. I know what's next now!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my plethora of OCs and the Planet of Howl. Eerything else belongs to its owner(s).**


	17. Crossover: Meeting Captain Jack

There are these rare instances in the Multiverse where two universe overlap. We know them as "crossovers", so that's what I'm going to call them, but they're a fair bit more complicated. Crossovers, from what I have seen, usually merge two or more universes together, (Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons is a popular one I've seen) dividing the character by space or time, or making an alternate universe where they can coexist. These are _not_ what I'm talking about, as those are separate universes. They're like separate leaves on the same vine, to continue to use garden analogies, same plant but different parts.

The kind of crossover I'm talking about is when two universes that don't meet and aren't supposed to… well, do. Their "branches" meet, as if the trees were too close together, so the branches got all tangled up. Can you picture that?

Gamma, my universe, is extremely susceptible to this. Why? Because it's the junkyard universe. What that means is that we are the garbage can of the Multiverse. If there's a design that gets rejected (not through natural selection), it gets dumped off there. Those bees we fought before we were residents of the TARDIS were the rejected form of the giant wasp from "The Unicorn and the Wasp". (I think it's "Vespin"?)

So, to get to the main point, now that you have a bit of background, is that this happened between Gamma, where I was at to do a fixed point that needed to be done (Miracle at Dunkirk, I encouraged people to use their boats to rescue the soldiers by being the first one out there, and in the 1940s, you can't have a woman making history, so they all went out too) and Alpha, Doc's universe.

How do I know this?

Well, I met Captain Jack.

Here's how.

It wasn't even anything exciting: there were no alien attacks, no hanging off a barrage balloon, none of that.

Nope. I accidently ran into him in Cardiff. He was returning to the Torchwood Hub… or somewhere around it, and I was walking to close and not paying attention (there was a song stuck in my head and I couldn't remember the lyrics) and we collided into each other.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, having fallen on my tailbone.

Captain Jack (not that I knew it was him at the time) helped me up, having recovered faster than me.

"Thanks."

"Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?"

This is when I looked up. "Wait what?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, what's your name?" he tried again.

"Zarla, and stop it."

Jack laughed. "You sound exactly like one of my friends."

"He wouldn't happen to travel in a blue box, would he?"

Jack looked at me in surprise.

"Yeah, I know him. Met him two years ago when the world was being taken over by bees."

"I don't think I've heard that one before."

"Different universe… at least, it should've been."

"Eh?"

"Well, currently, I should be in Gamma, but you're here and you're from Alpha… unless this is a crossover."

Jack raised his eyebrows further.

"Long story I really don't want to get into."

"Fair enough," Jack shrugged amiably.

"So what brings you two World War II?"

Jack pulled out a strange device that looked similar to Doc's Adipose Finder in "Partners in Crime".

"Searching for any rogue nanogenes. Heard a nasty rumor about them returning, but it was just some psychopath. The police are dealing with him currently."

We were walking towards the Torchwood Hub, but Jack didn't go in. Instead, he sat on the stones nearby. I took my seat next to him.

"Livin' the life," I commented, partially sarcastically.

Jack laughed, half bitter and half out of amusement.

"You have no idea."

"Or perhaps, I do."

"Or that," Jack conceded.

Then my cell phone started ringing.

"_So tonight I'm calling all the astronauts, all the lonely people that the world forgot-"_

I looked at Jack apologetically. "Sorry, have to take this. Is there a safe place to?"

"Right here should be fine."

"Thanks!"

I hit the green button. "Jack?"

"Yes?" This was Captain Jack.

"Zarla, there's something weird going on."

"Hang on Jack," I said into the phone.

I addressed Captain Jack. "Sorry. His name's Jack as well."

Captain Jack laughed at the situation. I went back to the phone.

"Alright Mr. Icicle, what's up?"

"Well, for one, we… moved? I think. I'm not entirely sure. Even Tessa and the Colors seem to be a bit wound up. And that's original."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean, 'moved'? How does a planet that doesn't even orbit anything move? And was that sarcasm?"

"I don't know, but Desert seems a bit upset. I'm gonna go talk to her and try to calm her down."

"Alright. See if you can decipher Tessa if you've got the time, snow dove."

I could feel the glare through the phone, but I could also see Mr. Icicle blushing in my mind's eye before I got a dial tone.

For those of you wondering, yeah, Jack (Mr. Icicle) has a cell. It was given to him by North soon after he started hanging out with me, just in case North needed him or was concerned and it wasn't urgent enough for the lights. Jack mainly uses it to call me though.

"Snow Dove?" Captain Jack questioned.

I laughed. "You'd know what I meant if you met him."

Jack nodded his head, conceding the point. "Duty calls?"

I grinned. "Yeah, kind of. There's still more I have to do here, though, so I'll be back if you want to hang around."

"Are you alien?"

The question startled me for second, and then I realized what he meant. (Talking about a planet that doesn't orbit would be a bit suspicious.) "Oh! No, just… part of that long story. Born and raised on Earth to a human mum and father."

Captain Jack scrutinized me for a second before accepting my words.

"I'll be here then."

I nodded and left through a portal Idris made.

Howl was in disarray when I got there. The Colors were rushing about, Tessa was pacing, and Jack and Desert were up in a tree. The nonexistent wind had kicked up, the purple grass swishing back and forth, and the blue branches above my head creaked gently.

I waited a bit for everyone to calm down. When they didn't, I whistled. Loudly. Hey, I learned from Donna.

Everyone looked at me. The Colors stayed in place, no longer going to and fro.

"Okay, Anyone have an idea as to what's going on?"

Tessa lifted her lip, baring her teeth out of frustration.

_No. All we know is that everything… shifted. And now the planet is upset, but it seems… resigned as well._

As soon as Tessa finished, a popping sound came from my right. I picked up the letters that had appeared out of nowhere, putting Doc's, Donna's, and Adam's letters in the back of the pile in my hands for later. I took the cream envelope with "Multi" scrawled in messy calligraphy and opened it.

Seeing the address, I read it aloud.

"Dear inhabitants of Howl,

I apologize for not telling you more information about Howl before now. Howl is a planet created specifically for Zarla's participation in helping me, with its eternal night for her mail system and the trees and grass detailing her adventures on other planets while keeping a little bit of home, along with making her companions more comfortable when they visit. However, since Howl does not orbit nor rotate, the laws of the universe had been bent. The universe rejects it, attempting to place it in your branch of your universe, Zarla, which is the equivalent to a junkyard for the universes. Howl, to avoid this, shifts, changing branches or universes as necessary.

Sincerely,

Multi"

"Well. That explains that."

"I figured you would've followed me." I turned to Captain Jack, who at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Been lied to too many times. Don't take it personally."

"Wasn't planning on it."

The inhabitants of Howl were now calm since things had been explained. I walked forward, looking at my new home in a new light.

"Howl…the Planet of Impossibilities," I announced.

The colors flashed, and Tessa nodded.

_A good name._

We let the christening of the planet sink in for a bit before Captain Jack spoke up.

"So, what was it you needed to do?"

I glanced at him over my shoulder. "Feel up to a liberation mission?"

"Depends. Who are we liberating?"

"People who were wronged."

Captain Jack grinned. "What's the plan?"

**A/N: Okay, yeah, basically an info chapter with a fixed point and fandom mixed in. I just wanted Captain Jack in here. And yes, I realize this is confusing to have **_**two**_** Jacks in the same chapter. Don't worry- it gets worse.**

**And yeah, I really like that title for Howl because it describes what it is, like how the TARDIS is the Box That's Bigger on the Inside.**

**Huge shoutout to Technogirl317, to whom I accidently forgot to credit in one of the previous chapters, and who edits this story and has been since Chapter One (not an easy job, let me tell you), to bellafan22 for reviewing, to my sister, Irish Lover Girl who will be helping me on a chapter coming up soon, and to my friends who listen to my rants and lok at the artwork.**

**Disclaimer: I own my plethora of OCs and the Planet of Impossibilities. Everything else belongs to its respective owner(s)/companies.**


	18. Raising Hell

Captain Jack and I went through another portal Idris created, leading us to just outside a concentration camp.

"Okay, do you want to sneak in or do you want to break in?"

"Let's take it down from the inside out," Captain Jack decided.

I nodded. "Get in line with these people."

We got in line, not having to fake our shivers. Captain Jack was a bit better off than me, at least having a long sleeved coat to cover his arms. We were a few paces apart.

A guard came by, looked at me, and sorted me into another line.

Jack was put into the other. We glanced at each other nervously. One of us was heading to the gas chambers, and it scared us to the core.

When the guard handed me soap after all of us had undressed to nothing, I smiled and thanked him, pretending to be surprised, when, really, what was running through my head was _shit shit shit shit shit!_

I wondered why I got sorted into this line when I remembered my first escapade in the Holocaust.

Huh. They're afraid.

I grinned. Hm. I could use that. But first…

They had crowded us into the room.

I looked up with dread, seeing the dispensers that looked like shower heads.

I braced myself, and when the pellets fell, I breathed in all the air I could.

Suffocating is not fun. Like, at _all_. My throat felt as if someone had shoved a rock down it, and my lungs were on fire. My mind was fading, slowly. It _hurt_. I couldn't imagine how the others felt. I had known they were lying to me. They didn't. Is this how Jack felt when he drowned?

My last thought was a picture of Adam's face, looking happy.

I was back in that room again. Multi was sitting there, a new worry line between his eyebrows.

"Hiya," I said.

Multi nodded. "It appears your immortality applies to everything. I sent Pink and Desert. You should be healed soon enough, and Desert has your clothes and is waiting for you."

"Thank you."

Multi grinned sadly. "Wait until you're done to thank me."

Fade to white, and I wake up on top of a wagon of bodies. True to Multi's words, Desert was there with my shirt and trousers, out of sight from the guard taking the wagon back.

I peeked my head up and tilted it. _Shall we freak him out?_

A small nod from Desert.

I jumped off the cart, over the guard's head, freaking him out. I quickly got dressed, going back the guard who had recovered enough to pull out his gun. I drew one of my swords, cutting the gun down, kicking it out of his hands afterwards.

I pressed the blade to his throat, close enough to be threatening but not enough to cut him.

Then I took the hilt of my sword and slammed it against his head. He passed out instantly. I took him into the woods, not too deep but enough for him to take a bit of time to get back and warn them that someone they thought was dead isn't.

Desert also had Captain Jack's clothes in her hands, which she put into my bag that she had apparently borrowed.

"Well, sneaking in is out," I informed her.

A gentle slap upside my head.

"Shall we?"

"What's your plan this time, Eris Dragon?"

I smiled deviously. "I'm gonna live up to that."

Desert raised her eyebrows.

"Follow me."

**POV CHANGE**

Captain Jack was sitting on his new bed. He had just met this Zarla woman and already she was dead. Captain Jack sighed. Another person he cared for, gone.

He had arrived just as the prisoners were heading to bed. He went to sleep, emptying his mind of regrets and sorrow.

The next morning, a crew of guards was escorting his cabin to where they were going to work. Captain Jack glanced around with sorrow at the people who were tired, cold, and hungry, being forced to work. Snow covered the ground, and the evergreens lived up to their name, creating a beautiful scene, but that guy with the blue hoodie and white hair- wait.

Captain Jack blinked. Sitting nearby a pine tree was a pale boy he had seen on Howl. Was he here to mourn the fall of his friend?

The pale boy smirked and pointed up at the tree when he saw he had caught Captain Jack's eye. Using the Sheppard's crook next to him, he pulled himself into the tree out of sight.

A guard fell suddenly, landing on the ground face first. The prisoners around him looked relieved and fearful.

"What did you dogs do?" another guard demanded. He too fell.

Captain Jack looked around. No one was there. This time, he used his ears. While his hearing was not extremely sensitive, he could still pick up a few things. The wind picked up, rustling the trees' branches.

Another guard fell, then another. A blast of icy wind blew past the guards, making them shiver but leaving the prisoners alone.

A screech was heard from above before a bird as large as a Macaw dive bombed a guard, leaving as fast as it arrived, having disoriented the guard.

An alarm sounded, and three people popped out of the trees: a female wearing a pink sari with gold swirls that shimmered with the light, barefoot even in the snow, hair tied into a braid with roses of varying shades of pink weaved into it. Next to her, the pale boy with white hair and icy blue eyes and next to him was Zarla, which surprised Captain Jack.

Zarla winked at him and pointed towards the forest behind her before climbing back into the trees, the winds disguising the rustling her moving caused.

Captain Jack called to his fellow inmates. "C'mon, you guys! Now's your chance to leave! The guards are distracted, the ones guarding us are down, and if we can move fast enough, we can escape from the dogs! I'm sure my friend will help your families."

The men followed Captain Jack to where he saw the two people.

"Desert Rose, call me Desert."

"Jack Frost." Those were all the introductions they had time for. Jack Frost began leading them through the forest, Desert following in the back, Captain Jack leading the inmates.

They made it a safe distance away. Jack Frost stopped and turned to Captain Jack, who had wandered away from his compatriots.

"They can't see me or Desert, so you're going to have to lead them. I'm gonna go see if Zarla needs help. I suggest staying here, as Zarla is the only one who can get to a place to protect these guys."

"What about Howl?"

Jack Frost shook his head. "It wouldn't work. These guys have already been traumatized, do you think putting them on a planet with eternal night, three moons, a telepathic wolf, blue trees, purple grass, and stars that are more colors than white, red, and blue is really going to sit well with them? It takes a lot for Zarla to get them to go through the portal. Get Desert if you want to know more; this is the first time I've gone on one of these missions with them."

And Jack again disappeared into the trees, a trail of snowflakes following his jump.

Captain Jack waited, helping to gather firewood and cook the meager supply of berries, herbs, and game the men had found and caught.

Zarla came with about ten women, including children, in tow, new cuts littering her face and arms, some new rips in her shirt and trousers.

The men reunited with their families. The ones who didn't went up to Zarla, who looked at them with a sad face and told them of their families' fates.

The men cried out in anguish. Zarla comforted them as best she could, but she could only do so much.

"I'll have a way to get to someplace safe tomorrow. Right now, we need to get sleep, but some of us need to keep watch. Anyone willing to take a shift? I'll take the first one."

Captain Jack volunteered to watch with her, and Jack Frost and Desert said they'd help out with the singles. A few other men volunteered, and then went to sleep with instructions to wake them up when their shifts came.

Zarla and Captain Jack stayed up for about two hours.

"How'd you get out?" Captain Jack asked Zarla.

"They took me out."

"Just like that?"

"No."

Captain Jack waited for an elaboration he never received. "I was sad, you know. I thought you were dead."

"So did they. And thanks."

"Hm?"

"Being sad means you cared."

Captain Jack grinned. "So… when we get out of here, can I buy you a drink?"

"Ah, go bury your head. I'm taken, Harkness."

"Lucky guy."

"Other way around."

"Can you tell me what really happened?"

"I was gassed, died, came back, and kicked arse."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"But… how?"

Zarla shrugged. "Got on the wrong side of some really powerful people. Heh. Now I can say that saying no has royally screwed me over twice in my life." She smiled bitterly.

Captain Jack stayed quiet for the rest of the shift.

The day after that, Zarla sent all the people through another portal that Idris created, sending them somewhere safe. Many "thank you"s were given to her and Captain Jack, and sometimes just a grim nod.

Zarla and her entourage were the last to go through. They went to Howl.

"I take it you want the full story," Zarla stated.

"Yes."

"Well, it all began two years ago when our world was about to be conquered by a race of giant bees…"

And Zarla told her story, Jack and Desert and occasionally Tessa adding in a comment here and there where Zarla had forgotten or did not wish to recall something.

Captain Jack was astonished. This woman had gone through so much, and she was even younger than Rose.

"You'll always be welcome at Torchwood if you ever find yourself in 21st century Cardiff," Captain Jack told her, "but I really should get back to the Hub."

"Here, I'll take you there," Zarla offered.

Another portal opened and they both walked through, ending at the water pillar that stood above the Hub.

"See ya later, Captain!" Zarla saluted.

Captain Jack saluted back as she left. He turned back to the Hub, a new bounce in his step.

Hey, if she could still laugh and smile after that, so could he.

**A/N: Ta-da! Next up: more fandoms!**

**Shoutout to: TechnoGirl317 for editing this whole story- give her a round of applause for editing **_**90 pages **_**worth of work. According to the little word counter, there are 30,216 words. I think that's about 4,000 short of FiLiAL. Yeah. That's a lot. Another shoutout to bellafan22 for reviewing, and my sister, Irish Lover Girl, for helping me with a lot of ideas. And the final shoutout to my two friends who listen to my rants, add input, and look at the artwork.**

**Disclaimer: I own my plethora of OCs and the Planet of Howl. Everything else belongs to their respective owner(s)/companies.**


	19. Universe Pi: Supernatural

Universe Pi: Supernatural

Time: Sometime between Cas's appearance and the end of Season Eight

Sam, Dean, and Castiel were coming back from a recent hunt, walking through empty, darkened, run down alleyways with graffiti everywhere, carrying bloodied blades and cocked guns. All were a lot worse for wear: Castiel had a good gash across his forearm, Sam was limping on his left heel, and Dean had a few scrapes across his forehead and a medium length and depth cut on his hip that would probably scar once it healed, but he was able to walk, at least.

They were almost to their destination (another motel- this one wasn't half bad, actually, but only had two beds) when something set off alarm bells and red flags in their minds.

A light was on in one of the abandoned buildings.

The dirty window was cracked in one panel, broken in three others, and the last two were just plain filthy.

The three men silently crept up towards the holes to look through, peeking around the frame.

A woman sat on a stool, staring at something held in her hand. There was nothing else except the flickering light bulb and litter that was scattered across the room. The woman sat there, ignoring the trash, the graffiti, the smell, and just stared at whatever was in her hand.

Dean spotted a door nearby and motioned to Sam and Cas. Sam nodded, but Cas paused for a second before nodding as well.

Dean got in position to break the door down, Sam to back him up, and Cas to enter last.

Dean counted to three in his head before busting down the door, entering with pistol drawn and Sam right behind him in a similar position, Cas trailing along, blade hidden in his hand.

The woman looked up, slightly startled, when the door crashed against the floor. She looked at the guns with a slightly dull expression.

"Who are you?" Dean demanded.

"Obviously someone you don't trust," the woman replied with a significant glance at the guns.

"Alright Sass Master, what's your name?" Dean interrogated.

"Zarla."

Cas's eyebrows leapt up slightly.

"Wait," he quietly half commanded, half asked the Winchesters.

The brothers glanced at him warily, but accepted his words.

Cas marched forward to the woman, who was hiding the object she was holding previously within her fist.

He looked at her straight in the eye at her level. Normally, someone would be freaked out or uncomfortable with this.

Zarla was anything _but_ normal. She looked back at Cas, meeting him in a staring contest.

"You're not from here."

"Neither are you." It wasn't defensive, merely a statement.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other. Another angel? Or demon?

"It's not often we see someone with a time signature or temporal bond."

What?

"Not often we meet a figure out of the Bible… well, first time we know for sure one of us has…" Zarla trailed off, looking thoughtful. The hunters and angel just looked confused. Noting the looks, the woman waved it off.

"We don't understand it ourselves."

Dean shook off the shock before aiming his pistol at her again, drawing another distasteful look from her.

"What does that even mean, Cas, the temporary bond or whatever?"

"Temporal, Dean. That means she is, in part, 'attached' to a… higher being."

"So, like you and Dean? The whole 'profound bond' deal?" Sam inquired.

Dean looked uncomfortable with the subject for a second before his poker face came back.

"Somewhat. It's more like their… hearts, are connected, instead of their souls."

"There's a difference?"

"Yes. The TARDIS has a heart. Soul, I wouldn't know," Zarla answered this time.

"You are aware of your bond?" Castiel inquired.

"Very. So, care to tell me why y'all came in here, guns blazing?"

"You're the one sitting in an abandoned building on a stool doing nothing. Forgive us if that's a bit suspicious," Dean snarked.

Zarla held up her hands in surrender. "I can see that."

"Why were you sitting there anyway?"

"It's nice to take a break from duty every once in awhile. Not for too long, just maybe a day or two, then it's back to the grindstone again, but for now, it's like a mini-vacation. It's nice."

Sam nodded his head sideways in understanding. It was hard to work every single day, every week, without breaks. A mini-vacation is brilliant when you could afford to do it.

"So you chose to sit," Dean commented.

"Yes."

"Why not go and gamble or to a bar or a library or something?"

"I don't like gambling, you go to a bar to get a one night stand or drunk, and I already have a significant other and being drunk or buzzed is labeled with a thousand red flags in my mind. I would go to a library, but I'm not particularly interested at this point in time, and even if I was, do really think any decent library is open at this hour? It's… two fourteen in the morning," Zarla explained, checking her cell phone.

"Where is your significant other, then?" Dean interrogated.

"Where he's needed." Zarla frowned. It seemed to be a bit of a touchy subject, so Sam switched the topic.

"So, why did you chose here?"

"Memories. The quiet, the feeble and wrecked hope of not being disturbed." Zarla laughed. "I actually don't really have a reason. I just ended up here and it wasn't too horrible, so here I stayed. I would probably go to a motel or something later."

Sam wrote down an address. "That's the address of one, and my phone number in case you need something or see something odd."

"What do you mean by odd? Like that?" Zarla pointed out of a window, revealing a vampire that was just a bit too slow to hide, so decided to bust in…

Only to be beheaded by Cas and his angel blade, splattering crimson liquid on the angel and his clothing.

"I didn't need to see that, and I presume the answer is 'yes', along with 'oh crap, gotta run'?" Zarla asked, getting off the stool, revealing that sitting on the tall seat and standing didn't make too much of a difference in height. She lightly stepped over the growing pool of crimson life force.

"Yeah, basically."

"Well, I know a shortcut out of here with very few people, come on."

Team Free Will exchanged a look, but followed after the woman anyway.

True to her word, a dizzying mess of turns, narrow and dark alleys, and some startled cats later (that were usually chased off from investigating by another black cat that was difficult to see), they emerged onto a street nearby their motel.

"Ta-da. You can find your way from here, I bet." She turned to the motel, presumably to get a room.

Team Free Will nodded and took a slightly different route that allowed them into the motel.

Cas took off back to Heaven or wherever he goes after healing all of them. Sam and Dean fell asleep, preparing for a road trip back to a safe house in the morning.

They saw Zarla again the next morning in a nearby Friendly's. (It was the only restaurant that served breakfast around within a reasonable distance.) She waved them over to where she was sitting, telling the hostess that they were friends she didn't think were coming.

Sam sat next to her, making Castiel and Dean squish together in the slightly small booth.

"Order whatever you want, I'm paying." It was more of a demand than anything, so they did. Well, Cas never ate much, but he did order a coffee. Dean practically ordered an apple pie for breakfast, with cinnamon apple pancakes with vanilla ice cream. Sam ordered the same thing as Zarla- an omelet with lots of vegetables and bacon. All of them ate in silence (the only other sound was the kitchen and background music as they were the only group in the restaurant), the waiter coming around and refilling drinks, taking away empty glasses and plates. Dean gave Cas a taste of his food. Judging by the look on the angel's face, he enjoyed it immensely.

Once they were all finished, the waiter asked if they wanted anything else.

"Anyone want ice cream? I mean, you just don't go to Friendly's and _not _get ice cream," Zarla asked the group at large, even though Dean already had some.

They all agreed, and Zarla asked for a few more minutes to decide.

"What are you going to do now?" Sam asked. This woman intrigued him, not in the romantic way, but more in the way Charlie did.

"Dunno. But I have a question for you, now. Why-" She cut herself off as the waiter dropped by again, taking orders for ice cream, which were all ordered in to-go tins, Zarla resuming as he left to get the ice cream and check. "Why'd you…" Here, she made a throat slicing motion, clearly indicating the vampire Castiel had beheaded.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, noting the she wasn't freaking out, so they elected to tell her.

"Do you remember the stories with monsters that your parents told you about at night? Like, vampires and ghosts and goblins?"

"They're not stories, are they?" Zarla asked in such a monotone that it disturbed Sam and Dean.

The waiter came back, dropping everything off and leaving. Cas tucked into his ice cream like a little kid, thoroughly enjoying the experience.

"This is a conversation best held elsewhere," Zarla decided.

Dean nodded. "Hell yeah it is."

Zarla paid the check and tip (as she said she would) and all four exited the building, all carrying ice cream, Cas still eating his, Zarla making a small, passing remark to not get brainfreeze.

They all got into the Impala (after a small discussion between Dean and Zarla where it was revealed she walked everywhere or caught another form of transportation). Cas filed into the back, Zarla sitting next to him. It was a silent but mutual agreement that Zarla would be sticking with them until everything was explained.

So Sam and Dean explained about hunting, and Cas revealed that he was an angel, which, surprisingly, didn't faze Zarla in the slightest.

Now it was Zarla's turn for explanations. She explained everything she could, and attempted that which she couldn't, but she kept Jack and Desert under wraps. Easiest way to get killed by hunters- admit you're in leagues with two spirits.

"So, let me get this straight. You're from a completely different universe, got into some random blue box with some random people, traveled through time and space, and through a series of adventures that would make Chuck weep either with joy or hatred at the events, ended up here because it was the most peaceful. You are aware we had a recent Apocalypse?" Dean reiterated.

"You are aware that I deal with shit like that at least once a week? I don't want people telling me when it's Armageddon; I want people telling me when it's _not!_" Zarla made a frustrated noise in her throat, leaning back into the door. "Seriously, it's ridiculous, but, perhaps, it's made me appreciate a different life a bit more. Still wouldn't trade it for anything, but sometimes you need to change routine to learn something new and appreciate it. I bet that if half the population hunted like you guys do, they'd be a lot more understanding and appreciate their lives more."

The Winchesters silently acknowledged this. They could appreciate a normal life, but they could never live it. Not with knowing that the monster in the closet and under the bed is completely real.

Zarla volunteered to help with the research involved in their next hunt. She was pretty good at it, from what Sam could tell, and her knowledge could be useful. She told them she'd probably have to leave before they did the actual hunting bit, but since they helped her (how, they weren't sure), she found it equal to help them as well.

That's what she said, at least, but Cas thought that she would've helped anyway. It just seemed to be part of her character, to help people she met.

They rented a motel room somewhere in Nebraska. Zarla rented one right next to them, even though she figured she probably wouldn't use it much.

Cas also elected to stick with the Winchester brothers, not having any Heavenly duties or wanting to go back quite yet.

Zarla took them out for diner, this time leading them into a Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

"My treat you guys, knock yourselves out. But not literally, that wouldn't be fun."

All four of them had a good meal, picking on the large pile of fries Zarla had poured from the containers and grabbing two lids worth of ketchup, there being no ketchup cups left.

She sat to Cas's right, across from Sam and Dean to the right of his brother. She and Cas split a lid of ketchup.

"Why are you being so nice to us? Normally we'd have the-" Dean glanced around, and noting the few kids around, censored himself, "SOBs chasing after us, teeth and claws bared."

"My teeth, while the canines are unusually sharp, are not going to be used unless desperately needed, and my fingernails are too short and dull to be called claws," Zarla commented dully, "but, perhaps, it is because everyone deserves at least a little kindness." The next part was muttered so low only Cas could hear her. "Especially on a birthday."

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, the fries being given to the hunter brothers. They all piled into the Impala and drove back off to the motel, going to their separate rooms, Cas going with Zarla because she said she didn't care if he stayed up all night, and while Sam and Dean only occasionally grumbled about it, Cas thought it was best to go with her and allow the hunters their well deserved rest.

Zarla went to bed around ten, Cas sitting up on the couch with the remote and a list of channels for the crappy cable shown on a television of equal quality.

He heard footsteps around 4:30 a.m.

"Hey Cas."

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" It was out of pure curiosity rather than snippiness.

"I'm an insomniac, Cas, I don't sleep as much. So, should I? Probably. Will I go back to sleep? Not for a little bit. Or awhile. Or maybe not at all. I'll figure it out later."

Cas hummed in acceptance.

"Are you okay?"

"I am fine."

Zarla gave him a skeptical look. "Fine as in 'I'm good', or fine as in 'fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional'?"

Cas jolted and started to stare at her. She rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm pretty good at reading people. Traveling around with a man who lies about how he feels a lot teaches you not to trust words more than body language, and you look like a wound up spring." She plopped down next to him. "So what's eating you?"

"Nothing is eating me."

"It's an expression, Cas. It means 'what's bothering you'?"

"You do not get upset when I ask these things."

"I've gone through the motions before. Try explaining plants to people who live on an ice planet, now _that's_ difficult. Plus, I don't think Sam and Dean get really upset, I think they're just surprised. I mean, you've been around a long time, watching humanity, and you look human. So it's like a shock when you don't know something that seems like common knowledge. So, can we please move back to the question, seeing as you're still trying to avoid it?"

"Life, I suppose."

Zarla stared harder at Castiel. He wasn't lying, just not telling the entire truth, but Zarla evidently decided to let it go and continue watching Doctor Sexy M.D. with Cas. It was the only semi-decent show Cas could find.

She fell back asleep around 6:00, only to wake up one hour later when her alarm went off. She was surprisingly amiable for this early in the morning, a nice contrast to the Winchesters, who were practically zombies until they had a cup of coffee. Granted, Zarla grabbed a Coke out of the fridge and drank half of it in ten minutes, but she was responding with complete sentences rather than grunts or one syllable words.

They met up with the brothers after their morning meal (cereal). Sam was looking things up on his laptop, Dean was looking through the newspaper (although he didn't find anything that caught his eye so he switched to the cartoons). Zarla elected to go look around town, and Cas stayed with the hunters.

Nothing turned up, which set all of them except Zarla on edge. Zarla had walked into the motel room to find Cas and Dean in one of their many staring contests. She blinked a few times, then glanced at Sam, jerking her thumb at Dean and Cas, glancing back and forth between them and Sam.

Sam gently shook his head with a slightly confused face.

Zarla's head snapped back about an inch before a "I have a plan" expression came across her features. She then proceeded to grab the keys from the table and then the two men by their shoulders, catching them off guard and moving too quickly for them to react, shoving them into a nearby closet that locked from the outside. She locked the door with the taken keys. She then pushed (with Sam's help) a wardrobe in front of the door. (This closet was very convenient. Zarla was thanking Multi for it; sure his intervention had something to do with it. It opened outwards, locked from the outside, the door was very sturdy, and it was pretty small.)

So, end result: Dean and Cas were stuck in the closet, unable to pick the lock and "angel" out.

"Seven Minutes in Heaven!" Zarla called out, Dean groaning at the chick flickiness of it all.

Cas, bless him, didn't get it. "But… this isn't Heaven."

"It's a game, Cas, we lock you in a closet for seven minutes and let you out later," Zarla explained, walking away with Sam in tow.

"Where are you taking me?" Sam asked once they were out of earshot of the closet.

"Well, I was thinking about going to that Hobby Lobby down the street, I need some sketch pads. Been there before, it's pretty-"

"Won't that take more than seven minutes?"

"Your point being?" Zarla turned to look at him, dark eyebrows raised over steel blue eyes glinting with mischievousness and a hint of challenge.

Sam raised his eyebrows as well and nodded his head to the side in agreement. "Never mind. Lead on."

I don't know exactly what happened in that closet, but when Zarla and Sam let them out, it was with disheveled hair and clothes, red cheeks, and Cas's only comment to be: "That was not seven minutes."

"Well, I said it was _locked _for seven minutes and we let you out later. I never specified later, so…" Zarla shrugged.

No one had a retort. Desert was laughing her head off when Zarla went back and told her the story, having been the one to unlock the door after seven minutes exactly before heading back to Howl with Jack.

Zarla had to leave not long after that. A letter was in her hand, and at Team Free Will's looks, she nodded.

"Time for me to go guys."

They all agreed to see her off, her having been a little bit of sunshine in their world of rainclouds and thunderstorms.

She turned to them before she did, however, grinning and holding a package she had pulled from her bag.

"I remember you guys telling me about all the times you dropped your weapons out of reach, so I figured I'd take the liberty to change that before it became a serious issue."

She gave the package to Sam, who took out one of many multi-colored, multi-patterned bungee wrist straps.

"I really wasn't sure what color or pattern you guys would want… I got these at the Hobby Lobby while you were looking at something or another, Sam, and they really weren't all that expensive. Plus, they're of good make. I also… erm… might've put a lot on your weapons cache back in the Impala." She grinned and chuckled nervously.

Dean blinked. "How'd you get into Baby?"

"Lock picking earlier today. Don't worry, I was extremely careful, and there won't be a scratch on it." Zarla shrugged.

"Well, I guess it makes this appropriate," Dean commented. Zarla before she left. She tuned to him with an inquiring face.

"What?"

"We just… wanted to say thanks, and… uh… give you this."

A pistol was put into Zarla's hand, who looked at it in distaste. Knowing what she meant, Dean elaborated.

"I get that you don't like firearms, so it's not like our guns… all it has are rock-salt blanks and normal rubber shots. They'll get rid of some of the nastier things, too, as Cas put a little angel mojo into the rock salts. But if you shoot a normal person, the most it's gonna do is sting like a bitch. It should still get them off your back."

Zarla looked at the gun. Dean held out at a holster, which she accepted, placing the gun inside and strapping it to the back of her belt, hidden by her t-shirt.

"Thanks Dean. I give no promises on using it, but… maybe one day I'll need it."

A final wave and the woman was gone, as if she had never existed in the first place, the only memory of her being Dean and Cas holding hands, and a little wisdom tucked away in the corners of their minds.

And a few bungees that were already attached to the weapons cache hidden in the Impala and on their persons.

Team Free Will marched back to the motel room to continue their research.

They had lives to save and creatures to hunt.

**A/N: Holy cow. I wrote ten pages- **_**ten**_**- for events that covered two-three days. Let's give a shout-out to TechoGirl317 for editing all **_**100**_** pages of this story. Another huge shout-out to my sister, Irish Lover Girl for reading over this chapter and providing ideas, as well as a bit of her own editing. Shout-out to bellafan22 for reviewing and to my two friends who have helped and listened and aided some of the madness.**

**And of course, to all of you who read this story and continue to put up with this onslaught of ideas.**


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